LINCOLN • 

THE POLITICIAN 



T.AARON LEVY 




Class _^^^L§L2 
Book__iLLi^__ 
Gopigliti^!' 

COPXRIGHT DEPOSrii 



STUDIES IN 
AMERICAN HISTORY 

Beatjmarchais, and the War of 
American Independence. Two vol- 
umes. Illustrated. By Elizabeth S. 
Kite. 

The Political History of the Pub- 
lic Lands, from 1840 to 1862. From 
Pre-emption to Homestead. By 
George M. Stephenson. 
Georgia as a Proprietary Province 
— The Execution of a Trust. By 
James Ross McCain. 
Lincoln, the Politician. By T. 
Aaron Levy. 

The Agricultural Papers of 
George Washington. Edited by 
Walter Edwin Brooke, Ph.B. 

RICHARD G. badger, PUBLISHER, BOSTON 



LINCOLN 

THE POLITICIAN 



BY 



T. AARON LEVY 




BOSTON 

RICHARD G. BADGER 

THE GORHAM PRESS 



Copyright, 1918, by Richard G. Badger 



All Rights Reserved 



MAY 27 !9i8 



Made in the United States of America 



The Gorham Press, Boston, U.S.A. 

^©G1.A497463 c^^.D^-^ 



PREFACE 



F 



LOVE of kind alone transcended Lincoln's political ambi- 
tion. His career as President, Statesman, Emancipator 
is a mystery unless his preparation for leadership is dem- 
onstrated. He was no product of sudden elevation, no crea- 
ture of opportunity. No American Statesman was better 
equipped to meet a national emergency. Lincoln the plain 
politician, the Illinois legislator, the congressman, and the 
prairie debater, was a child of the grocery store, of the 
pioneer gathering, of caucus and convention. It was this 
political training that determined the mode in which he 
breathed life into the momentous proclamation of the nine- 
teenth century. The world that admires his charity is in 
equal need of his policy. 

Until the coming of the industrial movement following 
the Civil War, the Commonwealth commanded the best heart 
and intelligence of the Republic. Captains of industry had 
not usurped the places of power. A degraded conception of 
devotion to the general welfare is in itself a sign of degenera- 
tion. A corrupt political system is incompatible with a 
healthy national existence. When individual aggrandize- 
ment is often preferred to the common good, when private 
institutions frequently allure the genius of a people, it is an 
inspiration to return to a politician who in simplicity and 
sincerity believed that civil service and patriotism are better 
than gold. An abounding demand of the day is a practical 
political philosophy. 

In spite of golden vision, of saintly Grail, civilization still 

6 



6 Lmcoln the Politician 

questions its real progress, and the sphynx of human suf- 
fering baffles understanding. Life has ever been a ceaseless 
compromise between spirit and matter, dream and reality, 
shadow and substance. In the never ending conflict between 
the hosts of darkness and of light, of radicalism and of con- 
servatism, the battle often has been won by the use of 
superior strategy. Wasted energy, a lack of well directed 
idealism and indifference to the laws of human progress are 
the main obstacles to human advancement. There is an 
ever present need of a fine sense of proportion between 
vision and reality. The reformer needs more method, while 
the practical representative needs more vision. The solution 
of vexing governmental problems will be hastened by a 
clearer and more general comprehension of the gigantic diffi- 
culties that stand in the way of the domination of ideas 
over matter. High political success comes from a profound 
knowledge of the character of the hostility thwarting human 
progress. Patience as well as faith must be the guide. Soci- 
ety suffers from misdirected emotion on the one hand and 
from impervious apathy on the other. Sensational onslaught 
on evil has been often tested and its futility proved. Like- 
wise the common politician has made many despair of demo- 
cratic government. Abraham Lincoln represents the sanest 
example of wise political action, his political life the best 
platform for eternal warfare on organized evil. 

The artist is measured not alone by his sleepless imagina- 
tion but also by the technic through which his vision assumes 
external form. Dante skillfully gave voice to "ten silent 
centuries." Even so the dreams of prophet and humani- 
tarian await the touch of the political artist to find immor- 
tality in visible manifestation. Neither a politician without 
a luminous idea nor a dreamer without political craft ever 
develops into a statesman. Democracy can solve its destiny 



Preface 7 

only by an adequate appreciation of the importance of 
working out its intrinsic mission. The national ideal must 
become a reality. Dreamer and reformer are needed and 
likewise the politician, the man of method, the student of 
matter, the wielder of the tool. A heroic past will not save 
a nation. "The central idea" of a people cannot be safely 
relinquished, but must restlessly follow the law of practical 
evolution in each generation. 

Abraham Lincoln was a child of American Democracy. 
He was trained in the college of republican institutions. 
The danger to Democracy is the treason of her own children. 
Lincoln stayed with his teachers — the plain people. He 
never longed for a place they could not give nor an honor 
they could not bestow. The aristocracy of externality, of 
clothes, fashion, wealth, station and descent ever remained 
shadows to him. He valued them at their real worth, with 
finer judgment than any man in modern history. The 
possibility of such a career is in itself a justification of re- 
publican government. 

He walked the way of the average citizen, labored in the 
factory of political methods. Living in the common atmos- 
phere, loving the strife of debate, near to the pioneer heart 
and mind, a student of popularity and party organization, 
he was from the beginning a champion of the better and 
broader humanity. He lived his democracy and led his peo- 
ple to a higher realization of the resistless purposes of the 
republic. Striking the better chords of their being, he led 
them to make a mere declaration of freedom the possession 
of a forgotten people. During his political pilgrimage he 
ever sought to widen in a practical way the Declaration of 
Independence. Many prate much of Democracy but Lin- 
coln dared to make it the bread of humanity. 

Abraham Lincoln used political machinery for the welfare 



8 Lincoln the Politician 

of the people. He was ambitious and loved success but not 
for its own sake. Station gave him wider opportunity to 
practice his philosophy of life, his affection for his fellow- 
men, and sympathy for the downtrodden. He is a guide to 
the perplexed, to those who have not bartered their ideal- 
ism in the stifling fight. His life is richly calculated to 
deepen faith in the ultimate triumph of righteousness, to 
lead to the conviction that spirit and method are not sun- 
dered of necessity, that the vision is not essentially a stranger 
to the party worker, that policy and compromise have 
their place in the domain of progress. 

He looms up in American History as a pohtician who 
glorified his craft, who kept his hands clean in all of the 
sordidness of material success. Vicarious government in a 
republic is ruinous. Lincoln is therefore an inspiration 
for political consecration and the prophet of permanency. 
He dedicated his talent to the external manifestations of 
the destiny of the republic. His common sense, his practi- 
cal sagacity and knowledge of human nature and of its 
limitations for progress, his prudent recognition of the 
labored advance of ethical sentiment and of the solidarity 
of vested interests, as well as his superb idealism and ex- 
alted spirit may well become food and life to those who be- 
lieve in the better politics. As these become the property and 
the possession of a broader community the republic will 
know no fear, dissension will little disturb her serenity and 
she will be equal to every emergency that may threaten her 
integrity. 

Beginning with the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Abraham 
Lincoln became and remained a national figure. From that 
time his life belongs to the history of the United States and 
has been dwelt upon with ever increasing fullness and eulogy. 
By contrast his early political life has been almost forgot- 



Preface 9 

fen. This work covers that neglected period, dealing with 
Lincoln the politician, showing his development and his train- 
ing for national leadership. The story is largely told in 
the words of Lincoln himself, stress being laid on crucial in- 
cidents hitherto, in the main, indifferently considered. A 
unity, dramatic in its simplicity, appears in his recital, giv- 
ing glimpses of a man who was guided by a supreme political 
philosophy in seeking to externalize his gospel of the broth- 
erhood of man in statute and decision. Considerable atten- 
tion is devoted to Lincoln in Indiana and at New Salem, 
showing the peculiarity of his power, his political popularity, 
and the rapid maturity of his convictions as to the wisest 
methods of attacking entrenched evil. An earnest, reverent 
and impartial study of his political career is an enriching 
education. There is no need of hiding its humble, rude 
phases. The more his life is lingered over, the greater the 
wonder grows at the emerging of Lincoln from the humility 
and the poverty of his environment with a "message of range 
and sweep," to the sons of men the world over. 



CONTENTS 



I. Lincoln in Kentucky .... 

II. Lincoln's Environment in Indiana . 

III. The Political Hero of New Salem . 

IV. Practical Legislator ..... 

V. Protestor and Patriot .... 

VI. Partisan in State and National Affairs . 

VII. Restless Political Ambition 

VIII. Lincoln Opposes the Inception of the Mexi 
can War in Congress .... 

IX. Lincoln's Attack on Slavery in Congress 

X. The School of Solitude .... 

XI. An Emancipated Politician 

XII. The Pilot of the New Faith in Illinois . 

XIII. Lincoln and the Dred Scott Decision 

XIV. Leader of the Republican Party in Illinois 

XV. The Dawn of National Leadership • 

XVI. The Political Philosophy of Abraham Lincoln 

Bibliography ...... 

Index ........ 



15 
21 
39 
58 
76 
87 
109 

121 
135 
152 
162 
181 
197 
201 
207 
213 
223 
227 



LINCOLN THE POLITICIAN 



LINCOLN THE POLITICIAN 



CHAPTER I 

LINCOLN IN KENTUCKY 



rpHE forefathers of Abraham Lincohi, like thousands of 
^ -■■ Western pioneers, were of a sturdy English lineage. His 
immediate ancestry, however, was less distinguished than 
that of many whose names are forgotten and whose influ- 
ence on American history is imperceptible. Every efFort 
to explain his career through an iUustrious parentage has 
proved altogether futile. 

Lincoln's grandfather belonged to that band of fearless 
adventurers in Kentucky, whose ideal was a lonely house in 
the middle of a vast farm, even though maintained in the 
presence of skulking redskins.^ It was in this land that 
earned the title of "the Dark and Bloody Ground," that a 
common frontier tragedy made the grandmother of Lincoln 
a widow. For one day wliile her husband was in the fields, 
a short distance from the house, with their youngest son 
Thomas, a sudden shot from an Indian ambush broke the 
stillness of the woods and the father fell dead. The oldest 
son Mordecai looking out of the loop hole in the loft of 
the house saw an Indian raising his little brother from the 
ground. Aiming at a silver ornament on the breast of the 
redman, he brought him down. The boy ran to the cabin 
' Shaler, 116. 



IS 



16 Lincoln the Politician 

and the mother opened the door. She hastened to a more 
settled community where her son Thomas, the father of the 
President, grew to a shiftless manhood.^ 

The inhabitants of Kentucky were bred in the school of 
hardship. The battle with the forest and buffalo abated, but 
there remained the heroic fight with the soil. Splendid virile 
qualities were born in the strife with the Indians and the 
forest. Inventions were yet unknown and a living was drawn 
from the earth only through grinding labor. Yet frontier 
life rapidly gave way to the march of civilization, the trail 
and the path to the highway. 

Hunters and warriors became tillers of the field. The 
merchant and manufacturer, the pioneer preacher, physi- 
cian, lawyer and poHtician appeared with the onward tide 
of events. 

The places of learning were few. Now and then a strug- 
gling teacher gave all that he had from his humble store to 
the young confidently entrusted to his care. Still something 
in the little log cabin school-house, even on unfrequented 
paths, developed character. Out of the battle with adverse 
conditions, with few advantages and manifold difficulties, 
came statesmen, and even scholars, men who laid the founda- 
tion of states, who guided the nation through its crises, and 
were equal to every emergency that endangered its vitality. 

The law abiding character of the people was notably 
evinced by the supreme patience with which they effected 
their separation from the mother state, Virginia.^ With 
wisdom they established courts of justice and the law of the 
land was speedily enforced. A malefactor who violated the 
statute against card playing, after imprisonment, turned his 
back on Kentucky, swearing "that it was the meanest coun- 
try a white man ever got into." * 
» Lamon, 7-8. " Shaler, 107. * Milburn, 65. 



LmcoVn in Kentuclcy 17 

The pioneers of Kentucky had in a high degree the instinct 
of government, the passion for politics. Their sense of Hb- 
erty was tempered by devotion to constitutional principles 
and reverence for the written law. The restless spirit of 
adventure was tamed by the potency of political responsi- 
bilities. At an early day, they displayed interest even in 
national problems. Their views were kindred to those of 
Virginia. Accustomed to restrain their own freedom, they 
did not favor the coercive measures of a distant, unknown, 
strong and centralized government. ^ The political policy 
of Washington was far from popular; that of Adams was 
odious.*^ The presidential contest between Adams and Jef- 
ferson agitated Kentucky. Discussions were frequent and 
widespread and even women participated. A pioneer boy 
was so elated over the triumph of Jefferson that, sitting in 
his chamber alone, he drank in cold water thirteen toasts in 
celebration of the triumphant event.^ 

It is probable that even in his infancy Lincoln listened 
at the fireside to many political controversies. In that case 
he heard doctrines advocated destructive of the national 
sovereignty, vitally hostile to those avowed and cherished by 
him in his public career. Traces of his early political sur- 
roundings on his vital convictions are hardly discernible. 
Lincoln became a national politician with little patience for 
the popular doctrine of State Sovereignty. He belonged to 
the Federal party by instinct. No American statesman was 
broader in his outlook of the general welfare. It is worthy 
of note that he passed his infancy in Kentucky ; his boyhood 
and minority in Indiana, and a varied career in the State 
of Illinois. Not being the son of a single community or 
commonwealth, he did not look to any individual state with 
fullness of affection. He was a citizen of the Republic. 
"Ranck, 181-2, 21fi. •Collins, 1, 284. ^ Drake, 211. 



18 Lincoln the Politician 

As early as 1790, an effort was made in Kentucky to 
promote the gradual abolition of slavery. The arrival of 
Clay strengthened this movement. Strong passions were 
aroused by the angry discussions that followed this futile 
endeavor. About 1810 the number of slaves increased per- 
ceptibly. The blighting effects of the institution soon began 
their revelation. Labor was deemed disgraceful and de- 
meaning. The possession of slaves, not "high intellectual 
and moral endowments," became the test of social status. 
Almost everything was subordinate to the dominating insti- 
tution. 

Such, in general, was the state of society in Kentucky 
when Thomas Lincoln, in 1816, made liis weary trail through 
tangled woodland to the wild forests of Spencer County, 
Indiana. He was one of the multitude discouraged with 
prospects in the Southern states. It was frequently the 
overbearing conduct of slaveholders, rather than hatred to 
slavery, that led the pioneer to leave the land of his nativity. 
Still it is amazing that the majority of these emigrants bore 
no resentment to the institution that provoked their re- 
moval, but became or remained vigorous advocates in main- 
taining its supremacy.^ 

Efforts have been made to account for Thomas Lincoln's 
movement by reason of his extreme hostility to slavery. 
Lamon indulges in a more prosaic explanation, stating that 
there were not more than fifty slaves in Hardin County ; 
that it was practically a free community ; that his more for- 
tunate relatives in other parts of the State had no scruples 
to their ownership; that he was wanderer by nature gain- 
ing neither riches nor credit; and that a quarrel with a 
neighbor, whose nose he bit off, made him more anxious than 
ever to leave Kentucky.^ Lincoln in his campaign biography 

» Palmer, 9. Drake, 208-209. * Lamon, 16-17. 



Lincoln m Kentucky 19 

remarks that this removal was partly on account of slavery, 
but chiefly on account of the difficulty in land titles in Ken- 
tucky.^ ^ Ida Tarbell even endeavors to make a sort of 
Abolitionist out of Thomas Lincoln. She quotes an old 
man, who claims that he was present at the wedding of 
Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, and that Tom Lincoln 
and Nancy and Sally Bush were steeped full of Jess Head's 
notions about the wrong of slavery and the rights of man, 
as explained by Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine. *^ If 
this were the fact, it is very strange that Thomas Lincoln 
never thereafter manifested any hatred of slavery during a 
long life. If Thomas Lincoln had been a zealous advocate of 
the rights of the black man, is it not stranger still that his 
son never even hinted at receiving the slightest impetus to 
anti-slavery opinions from his father.'' The long silence of 
Thpmas, Abraham and Sally Bush Lincoln disproves the 
contention that Thomas Lincoln was a friend or champion 
of the enslaved, or that his views differed from the prevailing 
sentiment in regard to Abolitionism. 

One incident looms up in the brief stay of Abraham in 
Kentucky. "I had been fishing one day," said Lincoln, "and 
caught a little fish which I was taking home. I met a soldier 
in the road, and having always been told at home that we 
must be good to the soldiers, I gave him my fish." ^^ This 
story strikingly displays the influence of his mother. Events 
were few in his early life, and made a correspondingly abid- 
ing impression. 

Lincoln was seven years old when he passed beyond the 
borders of Kentucky. There he received the rudiments of 
an education from two nomadic teachers. At the time of 
his departure, caste feeling was beginning to dominate so- 
ciety in Kentucky, but Lincoln never showed any of its mani- 

'» Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 639. " Nicolay and Hay, 1, 27. 

"McClure, 234. 



20 Lincoln the Politician 

festations. "He was," says Frederick Douglas, "the first 
great man that I talked with in the United States freely, 
who in no single instance reminded me of the difference 
between himself and myself of the difference of color, and 
I thought that all the more remarkable because he came 
from a state where there were black laws." ^^ 

No human mind would have selected Hardin County for 
the birthplace of the man who was to grapple with the most 
portentous problem in all American history. For the slav- 
ery question baffled the wisdom of the makers of the Con- 
stitution. It darkened the last hours of the stalwart states- 
men, Webster, Clay and Calhoun. It tried and tested the 
endurance of this nation in a crisis of grave moment. 

*'Rice, 193. 



CHAPTER II 

Lincoln's environment in Indiana 

r I "^HE year that marked the advent of Indiana into 
"*■ national statehood, witnessed the humble and unheralded 
entrance of Thomas Lincoln and his family into Spencer 
County. The State was a haven for the pioneer of peace- 
able disposition. The danger of the Indian no longer 
haunted the land. Still life was a grim struggle, hewing the 
way through solid forests to reach the new home, cutting 
the trees to build the log cabin, patiently raising the first 
crop of corn. It took time to construct the trail and then 
the road. Yet with marvelous rapidity, these early settlers 
soon caused the church to appear, the schoolhouse and the 
hamlet.^ 

Party politics is largely the product of a settled com- 
munity. When men are engrossed in establishing a home 
matters of national significance seem of little moment. The 
kitchen is more important to the log cabin than the parlor. 
So the most pressing problems of a pioneer settlement are 
those of local concern. Conventions and parties were un- 
known for some time. Any man could proclaim his candi- 
dacy for office. Voters were known as "Jones-men" or 
"Smith-men," after the candidate of their choice. The 
earliest manifestations of party spirit arose over the slavery 
question. Even under territorial government, delegates to 
Congress were called "Slavery" or "Anti-Slavery." During 

* Birbeck, 90. 

21 



22 Lincoln the Politician 

the canvass in which John Quincy Adams was selected as 
President, the Whig and Democratic parties were httle rec- 
ognized in Indiana. On election day, the workers shouted, 
"Here are Jackson tickets ! Here are Clay !" ^ The defeat 
of Jackson hastened the growth of partisanship. With the 
introduction of party politics came resort to trickery in 
elections.^ 

Politics was a recreation to the early settler. When the 
newspaper was a luxury, when there were few forms of 
amusement, it was an indulgence as well as an educational 
influence to listen to the orator on the questions of the day. 
Politics was the school of the nation, and in it there were 
few truants. 

The following incident illustrates a primitive political 
gathering. School was dismissed at the time of the militia 
election, and so the teacher took part in the festivities. A 
tin cup of whiskey was passed around twice, then a two 
gallon jug and bucket of water. A warm discussion arose 
about Indiana accepting the land donated by Congress for 
the construction of the Wabash and Erie Canals. Dr. Stone 
was most noisy against accepting. "Friends of the canal 
chose me," said the teacher, "to reply." "I was 'half seas 
over' from free and frequent use of the cup. I was puzzled 
to know what to do. Soon a fence rail was slipped into 
the worn fence near by and a wash tub turned up and placed 
upon it. Two or three seized hold of me and placed me on 
the eminence amid shouts of the friends of the canal. I 
could scarcely preserve my equilibrium. My lips refused 
utterance. After a long pause, I smote my breast with my 
hand, and said, 'I feel too full for utterance.' (I meant 
whiskey — they, full of indignation at the Dr.'s effrontery of 
opposition). The ruse worked like a charm. They shouted, 
"Smith, 1, 220. "Smith Misc. Ind., 119. 



LincolrCs Environment in IndioMa 23 

*Let him have it !' I raised my finger and pointed a moment 
sieadilj'^ at the Doctor, They shouted, 'Hit him again.' I 
made my first speech twenty-five minutes. The Dr. talked 
again thirty minutes. I closed the debate and there was a 
viva voce vote in favor of the canal." * 

As the early settler succeeded the hunter, agriculture be- 
came the main means of subsistence, but it could not become 
a source of profit without improved methods of transporta- 
tion. The movement for internal improvements was to have 
a profound influence on the course of events in the West. 
The splendid enthusiasm that lately concerned itself with a 
hostile environment was now employed in competing for the 
markets of the East. The Westerner was not accustomed to 
wander in the realm of dreams, yet he grew romantic in con- 
templating the resources of his fertile soil, and believed the 
time would come when nations would pay tribute to his prod- 
ucts. The completion of the Erie Canal marked a distinct 
epoch in this movement. It increased prices in some cases 
more than two hundred per cent. This advance called for 
better shipping facilities. As times became better, the peo- 
ple of the West became the missionaries of the internal im- 
provement system.^ 

Nothing so vividly revealed this enthusiasm as the recep- 
tion afforded Governor Clinton when he visited Ohio in 1825. 
He was hailed as a hero, as a friend, as a benefactor. A con- 
temporary observer thus described the occasion: 

"The grave and the gay, the man of gray hairs and the 
ruddy-faced youth, matrons and maidens, and even lisping 
children, joined to tell his worth, and on his virtues dwell, 
to hail his approach and to welcome his arrival. Every 
street, where he passed, was thronged with multitudes, and 
the windows were filled with the beautiful ladies of Ohio, 

*Cox, 30. "Squirrel Hunters of Ohio, 298. 



24 Lincoln the Politician 

waving their snowy white handkerchiefs, and casting flowers 
on the pavement where he was to pass on it." The Governor 
was deeply affected by such an unusual demonstration, and 
even shed tears in the presence of his worshippers.^ 

A vast system of internal improvements in Indiana was- 
the fruition of a campaign of more than a decade. It was 
an unfailing argument of those seeking political preferment. 
The construction of roads and canals was urged as one of 
the fundamental purposes of human society. This policy 
was declared to be the highway from poverty to prosperity. 
It fairly became the political religion of the day. Indiana, 
in 1836, started with rejoicing on the path that was before 
long to involve it in disasters that led it close to the chasm 
of bankruptcy and repudiation. 

Spencer County was in the southern part of the State, 
bordering on the Ohio River. The country was very rough 
and covered with forests, sparsely inhabited and poorly 
adapted for prosperous farming. There being no market 
for the products of the soil, the most primitive methods in 
agriculture were in operation. Wild turkeys and deer were 
had at the door of every man's cabin. Bears, wild-cats, 
even panthers, were still in evidence. 

Thomas Lincoln, though he often changed his home, did 
not modify his character. He remained to the end a shift- 
less man of roving disposition without effectual ambition. 
A carpenter by trade, while other men built substantial 
homes in the wilderness, he was content to live in a primitive 
log cabin without windows, floor or furniture. It was only 
the influence of his second wife that secured those urgent 
improvements. A man of supreme physical strength, slow 
to anger, yet dangerous when once aroused, he was not with- 
out deep affection. Still he did not hesitate to knock his in- 
• Squirrel Hunters of Ohio, 288. 



Lincoln's Erwiron/ment in Indiana 25 

quisitive son off the fence for answering traveler's questions. 
He was a master in the telhng of stories. It was his chief 
accomplishment, the main gift that his son owed to him. The 
nature of his mind is somewhat shown by his rambling re- 
ligious opinions. In Kentucky he was a Free Will Baptist; 
in Indiana he espoused the cause of Presbyterianism, and 
in Illinois he became a Campbellite. A relative quaintly ob- 
serves that happiness was the end of life with him.^ John 
Hanks, the uncle of Lincoln, was the most sturdy of his 
relatives ; yet, this same Hanks was so illiterate that when 
Lincoln became President, he could not endow him with an 
Indian Agency. 

The somberness of Lincoln's childhood was brightened by 
the memory of his mother. In intellect, she was far above 
those with whom she enacted the sad and short drama of 
her life. Even as a child in Kentucky he felt the spell and 
potent influence of her words. When she died, young as he 
was, he lived alone with his grief. The passing years hal- 
lowed the early impression of his sorrow, yet during all these 
years the memory of his mother was a mystic influence in 
his development; and so when he stood almost at the summit 
of his career, he declared, "All that I am, all that I hope to 
be, I owe to my angel mother." ^ 

The greatness of Lincoln grows upon us when we contem- 
plate the conditions from which he emerged, and consider 
the manner of men among whom he lived. Despite the 
efforts of many biographers to brighten his early surround- 
ings, we have the highest evidence in his conduct and speech 
that he was nurtured in hopeless adversity ; in poverty that 
was not alone incidental to pioneer conditions, but con- 
tinued long after it was the common fate. He compre- 
hensively described liis environment in the statement that 
' Lamon, 15. » Arnold, 20. 



26 Lincol/n the Politician 

there was absolutely nothing in his associations to excite 
ambition for education.^ There was little in his ancestry to 
quicken his pride. He ever maintained a peculiar reticence 
about his youthful days and his parentage. He may by 
constant thinking have exaggerated the distressing state of 
his childhood, but in the main there can be little addition 
to, or modification of, his reluctant testimony.^*' 

He made his own way in the trail of letters. He pur- 
sued plans of educating himself infinitely better than those 
followed in schools and universities. He has left us price- 
less testimony of the manner of his intellectual develop- 
ment. "Among my earliest recollections," said Lincoln, "I 
remember how when a child, I used to get irritated when 
anybody talked to me in a way I could not understand. I 
do not think I ever got angry at anything else in my life; 
but that always disturbed my temper and has ever since. I 
can remember going to my little bedroom, after hearing the 
neighbors talk of an evening with my father, and spending 
no small part of the night walking up and down and trying 
to make out what was the exact meaning of some of their, 
to me, dark sayings. I could not sleep though I tried to, 
when I got on such a hunt for an idea until I had caught it ; 
and when I thought I had got it, I was not satisfied until I 
had repeated if over and over again; until I had put it in 
language plain enough, as I thought, for any boy I knew 
to comprehend. This was a kind of passion with me, and 
it has stuck by me; for I am never easy now, when I am 
handling a thought, till I have bounded it north and south 
and bounded it east and west. But your question reminds 
me of a bit of education which I am bound in honor to men- 
tion. In the course of my law reading I constantly came 
upon the word demonstrate. I thought at first that I un- 

* Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 596-597. " Lamon, 17-18. 



Lincoln's Environment in Indiana 27 

derstood its meaning, but soon became satisfied that I did 
not. I said to myself, 'What do I mean when I demonstrate 
more than when I reason or prove?' I consulted Webster's 
Dictionary. That told of certain proof, — proof beyond the 
probability of a doubt, but I could form no sort of idea 
what proof it was. I thought a great many things were 
proved beyond the possibihty of a doubt, without recourse 
to any such reasoning as I understood demonstration to be. 
I consulted all the dictionaries and books of reference I 
could find, but with no better results. You might as well 
have defined blue to a blind man. At last I said, 'Lincoln, 
you can never make a lawyer if you do not understand 
what demonstrate means ;' and I left my situation in Spring- 
field, went home to my father's house, and stayed there until 
I could give any proposition in the six books of Euclid at 
sight. I then found out what demonstrate meant, and went 
back to my law studies." ^^ 

Inadequate as his education may have been objectively, 
Lincoln was supremely trained in the college of lonely 
thought. No American of eminence owes less to the pubhc 
school system. His entire career is a mystery unless full 
value is given to the statement of Herndon that "Lincoln 
read less and thought more than any other man of his 
time." * 

His love of learning amounted to a passion. The time his 
companions squandered in recreation he largely employed in 
mental improvement. His literary education was a painful 
process and was gained without help. His plan was slow but 
effective. "He read every book he could lay his hands on ; 
and, when he came across a passage that struck him, he 
would write it down on boards if he had no paper. Then 
he would rewrite it, look at it, repeat it. He had a copy- 

" Tarbell, 1, 43. * Oldroyd, 533, 



28 Lincoln the Politician 

book, a kind of scrap book, in which he put down all things, 
and thus preserved them." ^^ 

Bj this method he gradually evolved a style of supreme 
strength and sincerity. The Bible was the main force in 
its fruition. For a long time he dabbled in "crude rhymes" 
and "awkward imitations of scriptural lore." With all the 
gentleness of his nature, he was a master of satire, and 
slowly learned to use this dangerous gift with moderation. 
One of his early compositions was an impulsive effort to con- 
demn cruelty to the helpless toad and turtle. More ambi- 
tious products followed. The reading of a newspaper article 
on temperance induced him to contribute something on that 
theme. A minister found it a place in a newspaper, to the 
ecstasy of the writer for the first time tasting the sweet- 
ness of publicity. This success led him to indulge in other 
dissertations. His political environment and his readings in 
American history germinated. With exultant spirit he pro- 
claimed that "the American Government was the best form of 
government for an intelligent people ; that it ought to be 
kept sound, and preserved forever; that general education 
should be fostered and carried all over the country ; that the 
Constitution should be saved, the Unionij)erpetuated,, and the 
laws revered, respected, and enforced. "^^ This effort met 
with instant approbation. A lawyer, to whose criticism it 
was soberly entrusted, declared, "The world can't beat it." ^^ 

Three books had a pervasive influence upon his political 
opinions, "The Revised Statutes of Indiana," Weems' "Life 
of Washington," and a "History of the United States." ^^ 
Lincoln has left us indisputable evidence of the profound 
power of Revolutionary History in moulding his patriotic 
sentiments. For in his memorable speech in the Senate' 

"Lamon, 36-37. "Ibid., 69. 

"Ibid., 68-69. "ifcid., 37. 



Lincoln's Environment in Indiana 29 

Chamber at Trenton, New Jersey, he said : 

"May I be pardoned if, upon this occasion, I mention 
that away back in my childhood, the earhest days of my 
being able to read, I got hold of a small book, such a one 
as few of the younger members have ever seen, Weems' 'Life 
of Washington.' I remember all the accounts there given 
of the battlefields and struggles for the hberties of the coun- 
try, and none fixed themselves upon my imagination so 
deeply as the struggle here at Trenton, New Jersey. The 
crossing of the river, the contest with the Hessians, the great 
hardships endured at that time, all fixed themselves on my 
memory, more than any single Revolutionary event; and you 
aU know, for you have all been boys, how these early im- 
pressions last longer than any others. I recollect thinking 
then, boy even though I was, that there must have been 
something more than common that these men struggled for. 
I am exceedingly anxious that that thing— that something 
even more than national independence ; that something that 
held out a great promise to all the people of the world to 
all time to come— I am exceedingly anxious that this Union, 
the Constitution, and the liberties of the people shall be per- 
petuated in accordance with the original idea for which that 
struggle was made, and I shall be most happy indeed if I 
shall be a humble instrument in the hands of the Almighty, 
and of this, his almost most chosen people, for perpetuating 
the object of that great struggle." ^^ 

The influence of Weems' "Life" is indicated by the fact 
that Lincoln did not lose his boyish enthusiasm for the char- 
acter of Washington. He once exclaimed, "Let us believe as 
in the days of our youth that Washington was spotless; it 
makes human nature better to believe that one human being 
was perfect: that human perfection is possible." ^^ This 
"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 688. "Whitney, 45-46. 



30 Lincoln the Politician 

devotion is still more significant as Lincoln very rarely in- 
dulged in hero worship. 

We shall not at all comprehend the political life of 
Abraham Lincoln unless we fairly understand the momentous 
subjective influence of these few volumes. One of them, the 
Revised Statutes of Indiana, contained the Declaration of 
Independence. He was scarcely more than eighteen years 
old when he brooded over the significance of that immortal 
utterance.^® 

His stepsister says, he was an indefatigable preacher. 
"When father and mother would go to church, Abe would 
take down the Bible, read a verse, give out a hymn, and we 
would sing. Abe was about fifteen years of age. He 
preached, and we would do the crying. Sometimes he would 
join in the chorus of tears. One day my brother, John 
Johnston, caught a land terrapin, brought it to the place 
where Abe was preaching, threw it against the tree and 
crushed the shell. It suffered much, — quivered all over. Abe 
then preached against cruelty to animals, contending that 
an ant's life was just as sweet to it as ours to us." ^^ 

Often mounting a real tree stump his quaint stories and 
impressive manner gathered all his fellow laborers. It is 
related that Lincoln's father and sometimes his employers, 
angered at the loss of labor, would drag the orator from 
his eminence. It was about this time that Lincoln said that 
his father taught him to work but never to love it.-^ 

Lincoln's wit was no small part of his forensic eloquence. 
He was more ready at the beginning of his career than in 
after years to ridicule censorious conduct. So James Larkin 
found it, who was a great hand to brag. He stepped up 
before Abe, who was in the crowd, and boasted of his horse. 
"I have got the best horse in the country," he shouted to 

" McClure, 167. '" Lamon, 40. =^ Ibid., 36-40. 



Lmcoln*s Environment in Indiana 31 

his young listener. "I ran him three miles in exactly three 
mmutes, and he never fetched a long breath." 

"I presume," said Abe, rather dryly, "that he fetched a 
good many short ones though." 21^ 

Lincoln further found opportunity for exercising his ora- 
torical talent in the speaking exhibitions at Gentryville. 
Public debates were no minor attraction to the community. 
Discussions as to whether the Indian or negro had tlie 
greater right to find fault with his treatment were frequent 
and intense. The closing day of school was duly celebrated 
by declamations, debates and dialogues. Many selections 
for these occasions came from the Kentucky "Preceptor," 
rich in such utterance as Pitt's "Speech on the Slave 
Trade." 22 

Lincoln was present on one occasion at a dramatic mur- 
der trial in which John V. Brackenridge appeared for the 
defendant.23 Lincoln heard the poHshed and eloquent advo- 
cate as in a dream. After the trial the humble backwood 
speaker freely praised the eloquence of the mature advocate 
Brackenridge glancing at his awkward shabby admirer 
turned away without a word. 

Lincoln learned that ability does not always go hand in 
hand with sympathy. He crawled into his own world where 
pride was to have no home, where humble appearances were 
not to be despised. When Lincoln as President met tliis 
same Brackenridge, he simply said, "If I could, as I then 
thought, have made as good a speech as that, my soul would 
have been satisfied; for it was up to that time the best speech 
I had ever heard." ^^ 

The people of GentryviUe were largely of a rough hardy 
sort. Like other pioneers they were ready to 'escape the 
I Herndon, 1, 43. . Spencer County, 313. 

TarbeU, 1, 36. . Herndon, 1, 49-50. Lamon, 67. 



32 Lincoln the Politician 

monotony of their life by engaging in exciting games. The 
rude joke, the vulgar gibe was prized. To laugh loud was 
somewhat of a luxury to the hard working settler. Refining 
influence was fairly unknown. 

However, social distinctions gradually asserted them- 
selves with the progress of prosperity. Parties of some pre- 
tensions came into vogue, and distinctions were made in the 
guests invited. Lincoln, who had been welcomed at the ruder 
gatherings, log rollings and similar entertainments, was not 
in favor with those seeking social prominence. Fond of 
popular applause, he resented this treatment, and in spite 
wrote satires and "chronicles," chastising the offenders.-^ 
These productions were coarse, vulgar and even indecent, 
spiced with no lack of wit. They appealed to many, though 
it is said that some were shocked. 

On one occasion Lincoln placed certain reflections on 
the Grigsby family where they could be readily discovered. 
Being found, they brought on a fight for the family honor. 
Lincoln had his stepbrother, Johnston, first stand "the 
brunt" of the contest. A terrible fight ensued, and when 
Lincoln saw that Grigsby was too much for Johnston, he 
burst through the ring, caught Grigsby, and threw him off 
some feet away. Then swinging a bottle of liquor over his 
head swore that he was "the big buck of the lick." "If any 
one doubts it," he shouted, "he has only to come on and whet 
his horns." A general engagement resulted, but soon the 
field was cleared and the wounded retired amid the exultant 
shouts of the victors. ^^ 

From such an origin Lincoln came. Biograjjhers seek to 

illumine its poverty in vain. He was reared amid a shiftless 

family. No external inducement guided him in his wearisome 

journey. He was in the daily presence of vulgarity. He 

=^Lamon, 63. '"Ibid., 6i-65. 



Lmcoln*s EnvironTnent m Indiana 33 

alone of all his companions started in a titanic conflict with 
an enslaving environment. 

The store was the social center of the pioneer town, the 
place to hear the latest gossip. There the neighbors met to 
pass judgment on events of general and local interest. The 
proprietor was often the only possessor of the weekly news- 
paper. It was not as in later days the abode of loungers 
mainly. It played a big part in the education of the frontier 
community. It was the school of many men and the home 
of wit and wisdom. Politics, religion and other problems 
were here subjected to the scrutiny of men blest with good 
sense and judgment. 

The store drew the choice spirits in story telling, and its 
hero was the man who could best kindle laughter. In a 
community where this art was the highway to the general 
good will, Lincoln soon became the master among the many 
contestants for that distinction. 

Wherever men congregated Lincoln sought supremacy. 
Political discussions were frequent. The newcomer soon 
tried his hand in the art of controversy. He gradually 
gained headway in the esteem of the soberminded for the 
clearness of his statements, for the keenness of his vision, and 
the honesty of his manner. Day by day he gathered strength 
and wisdom. It is improbable that any other young man so 
soon won the general good will or was so widely respected 
by all classes of men. In this, even as a youth, he was 
unique. He had the splendid tact, the inherent humanity 
that appealed to the various elements that constituted the 
transitional frontier when It was evolving Into a higher com- 
munity. 

There is very little satisfactory evidence of the political 
opinions of Abraham Lincoln In Indiana. Lamon states that 
his family were all Jackson Democrats; that Lincoln's em- 



84) Lincoln the Politician 

ployer, Jones, the grocery keeper of Gentry ville, was a Jack- 
son Democrat, and that Lincoln read papers that cham- 
pioned the principles of the Democratic party of that day, 
and that he was in the beginning a follower of that eminent 
political sage.^^ There is no corroboration of this testi- 
mony that Lincoln was ever avowedly an attendant in the 
school of Jackson. Lincoln frequently refers to the fact 
with pride that he was an old time Whig, and it might be 
inferred from his speeches and statements that he was a 
devoted follower of Clay from the very first. However, Lin- 
coln was somewhat an admirer of Andrew Jackson. It may 
be that early in life he passed through the several stages of 
political development, and was thus aided in becoming a 
tolerant politician. 

From childhood until 1829, Lincoln lived in Gentry- 
ville. In that year he made a trip by boat to New Orleans 
with Allen Gentry. It was on this venture that Lincoln had 
his first vital meeting with the members of the race in whose 
destiny he was to be so deeply concerned. While their boat 
was moored near Baton Rouge and they were fast asleep, 
they were startled by footsteps on board. They knew "that 
it was a gang of negroes come to rob, and perhaps to mur- 
der them. Allen, thinking to frighten the intruders, cried 
out, 'Bring the guns, Lincoln ; shoot them.' Abe came with- 
out a gun, but he fell among the negroes with a huge blud- 
geon, and belabored them most cruelly," but "received a scar 
which he carried with him to his grave." ^^ It is strange that 
this incident did not jaundice the youthful Lincoln against 
the unfortunate people. Though his life was endangered 
by these wayward sons of Ethiopia, it did not affect his 
sympathy in any degree for the burdened and oppressed 
race, nor change his judgment as to the injustice of their 
"Lamon, 57, 123. "Ibid., 71, 72. 



Lincoln's Environment in Indiana 35 

treatment. 

The origin of Lincoln's anti-slavery sentiments is some- 
what of a mystery. That Stephen Douglas, reared in New 
England, should become the foremost champion of the South- 
ern slavery policy, and that Abraham Lincoln, a son of 
Kentucky, that of the bondsman, baffles the wisdom of the 
historian. 

Various efforts have been made to account for his views 
on the slavery issue. The claim that he derived them from 
his parents in Kentucky has been noted. Ida Tarbell enu- 
merates the various abolition movements in the western do- 
main that may have influenced him. In 1819, Charles 
Osborn published a paper advocating emancipation. A few 
years after Benjamin Lundy issued the Genius at Shelby- 
viUe. Scarcely one hundred miles from Gentryville the ^60- 
Ution Intelligencer was started. There were abolition soci- 
eties in Kentucky and lUinois. The same author states that 
^'it IS not impossible that as Frederick Douglas first real- 
ized his own condition in reading a school speaker, the 'Col- 
umbian Orator,' so Abraham Lincoln first felt the wrong 
of slavery in reading his ^Kentucky' or 'American Precep- 
tor.' " 2^ 

Considering the slowness of communication, the casual 
appearances of even well-known journals, it is doubtful if 
Lincoln heard of the abolition movement to any serious ex- 
tent. It is at least significant that Lincoln alone, of his 
entire family and of his associates, saw the magnitude of the 
slavery evil. Like his sympathy for the suffering animal 
world, his anti-slavery sentiments baffle explanation. He 
hated the infliction of wrong instinctively. 

There is a duahty to the life of Lincoln that should com- 
mand more attention. Intellectually, he lived in a world 
^ Tarbell, 1, 35, 36. 



36 Lincoln the Politician 

of his own, a world in which he found little companionship. 
Still he was not altogether the fruition of a subjective life. 
He shared the common pioneer craving for human society. 
It may have been rendered even more intense in his case 
by the loneliness of his mental existence. Neither the forest, 
prairie nor storm, the sunset or constellation were his friends 
as men were. He loved his kind more than nature. 

During his last years in Indiana he lived fully the life 
of the people around him. Their ideals seemed his ideals. 
Athletic superiority was the road to respect and honor, and 
Lincoln became the foremost man in physical games. He 
first won renown as a wrestler. Stories of his superior 
strength were heralded far and wide and his place was un- 
challenged. He was a leader in the rude crowd where might 
was the test of standing. Living among men devoted to 
hunting, he seldom indulged in that common recreation. In 
this his individuality asserted itself. He would not sanction 
suffering even in the animal world, and he seldom swerved 
from his convictions even in the day when the wolf howled 
at the cabin door. 

The maturity of Lincoln's development at the time of his 
departure from Indiana has not received just consideration. 
Gaunt and awkward in appearance there was little in him to 
attract favorable attention. He was without trade or pro- 
fession. Nothing appeared to distinguish him from the 
other members of the shiftless Lincoln and Hanks family. 
A stranger would hardly have chosen him as a future son of 
fortune, even from that humble crowd of wanderers. Un- 
couth in dress and manner, he would have found small favor 
in polite society, and among those who judge by things seen 
on the surface. 

Viewed subjectively there is another Lincoln, a man of 
promise and inevitable distinction. Those who have dwelt 



Lmcoln's Environment in Indiana 37 

extensively on the objective aspect of Lincoln have squan- 
dered sympathy on liis want of education. For though poor 
in material things, he was rich in mental wealth, in the quali- 
ties that make manhood, in those virtues that survive the 
mutations of time, that future generations dwell on with 
ever increasing fondness. At the threshold of his majority 
he was already possessed of elemental ability and greatness. 
He was one of those rare souls that do not lose the golden 
ideals of youth with passing years. The sneers of selfish 
men never changed the primal sweetness of his nature. 

The fourteen years that Lincoln lived in Indiana were 
years of splendid fruition. By his peculiar process of self- 
development his mind had attained a maturity far beyond his 
age. He mingled freely in the world of men and events. He 
was close to the human heart, to the sorrows of the humble, 
to the mute and deep emotions of the lonely dweller on the 
western farms. He loved the plain people. He had the com- 
mand of style, the ease and pith of statement that schools 
rarely give. Ready of speech, he could command the atten- 
tion of the rough as well as the sober minded. He was 
already renowned as a dispenser of laughter through the 
magic of his stories. But above all he was rarely gifted 
with good sense, with a mind not easily diverted by false 
hghts, by the glitter of objectivity. He went irresistibly to 
the root of things. A man of fine emotions, wanting in the 
small social amenities, he seldom went astray in the domain 
of reality. 

It is also essential to mark the practical character of all 
his learning. His knowledge was all useful and vitahzing. 
His mind was not cumbered with waste materials. His edu- 
cation was sound to the core, was all genuine, well calculated 
for a man in the very strife of life. Judged by the standard 
of schools and universities he was not an educated man, but 



38 Lvncoln the Politician 

judged by the broader standard of thought and action he 
was supremely educated, the best educated man of his time. 
He served his apprenticeship in the school of experience 
and only needed opportunity to be of royal service to his 
fellowmen. Honest, homely and humble, he was in harmony 
with the average man of his time, and was well fitted to 
become a representative of the people. 



CHAPTER III 

THE POLITICAL, HERO OF NEW SALEM 

rpiHE immediate occasion for the departure of Thomas 
-*■ Lincoln from Indiana was the visitation of the mysteri- 
ous ailment widely known as the "milk sick." The scant 
progress made by the family in Spencer County strength- 
ened his desire to try his fortune in a new land, — a land 
that in the distance held forth alluring promises of better- 
ment. 

They arrived in Illinois at the transitional period when 
the progressive settler was putting on the clothing of civili- 
zation. The concentration of population scattered the ob- 
stacles of progress. The wilderness was subdued, and the 
worth of the prairie land proved. The howl of the wolf ever 
growing fainter and fainter marked the hurrying advance of 
another dominion.^ Shyly but steadily style showed itself 
in the home, food and dress. Through the surface it be- 
tokened the coming of a settled community; it was the un- 
failing external sign of prosperity and of fellowship with 
religion and education. 

The old pioneer mourned the change. He saw the loom 
put away, and ribbons supplant the cotton frock. With sad- 
dened heart, he met the new civilization. To him, it was the 
doom of the old hospitality, of his freedom, the coonskin cap ; 
the deer shoes ; the log cabin built with his own hands. 
"Hog and hominy" no longer waited on hunger. What his 

*Ford, 94-95. 

S9 



40 Lmcoln the Politician 

child named progress did not compensate him for the flight 
of the companions of his youth. The pioneer had in the 
name of civilization cleared the land of the Indian, who 
could not adapt himself to its way, and now the victor was 
in turn to yield to the same unrelenting monarch. 

John Hanks was the path finder for the little colony. He 
selected a place close to Decatur as a home for the wanderers. 
Lincoln took a hand in making the cabin which soon housed 
his father and family. But rather than engage in manual 
labor, he was alert to show his skill as a speaker. "After 
Abe got to Decatur," says John Hanks, "or rather to 
Macon (my county), a man by the name of Posey came into 
our neighborhood, and made a speech ; it was a bad one, and 
I said Abe could beat it. I turned down a box or keg, and 
Abe made his speech. The other man was a candidate. Abe 
wasn't. Abe beat him to death, his subject being the navi- 
gation of the Sangamon River. The man, after the speech 
was through, took Abe aside, and asked him where he had 
learned so much, and how he did so well. Abe replied, stat- 
ing his manner and method of reading, and what he had read. 
The man encouraged Lincoln to persevere." ^ 

Lincoln fretted under the tutorage of his father, and 
longed for the hour of his legal freedom. When that period 
came, he promptly joined John Hanks in guiding a flat boat 
to New Orleans for one Denton Off'utt.^ 

Perhaps the most critical incident in the life of Lincoln 
was this second visit to New Orleans. Hitherto, with a single 
exception, his life was simple and close to nature and the 
human heart. Young as he was, the solemnity of the forest, 
the expanse of the prairie, the nearness to the heart of things, 
the problems of life and their seriousness already cut their 
lines in his sensitive organism. Knowing little of the mer- 
='Lamon, 78. Ubid., 78-80. 



The Political Hero of New Salem 41 

cantile world, in the realm of thought he was already master 
of those around him. There was something of Hamlet in 
this gaunt youth. 

The varied amusements of the southern city that fasci- 
nated his companions did not move or detain him. One sight 
alone riveted his attention. A mulatto girl was on sale. She 
was trotted up and down like an animal. Others saw the 
scene without flinching. It was nothing to them; no lash 
on their backs. According to Herndon, the whole thing was 
so revolting that Lincoln moved away from the scene with a 
deep feeling of hate, saying to his companions, "By God, 
boys, let's get away from this. If I ever get a chance to hit 
that thing (meaning slavery), I'll hit it hard." ^ 

From that time Lincoln hated slavery with all his soul. 
The slave dynasty was an organized evil of national power. 
It dominated the actions and even the opinions of men ; its 
whisper silenced the voice of conscience ; its power dictated 
legislative policies, and was even known to intrude into the 
sanctuary of judicial tribunals. It was not a stranger in 
distinguished pulpits. 

Lincoln was weak, helpless, unregarded. A blow from his 
hand would then fall impotent and unnoticed. Three courses 
of conduct confronted him. He might, with the majority 
have become an apologist of slavery, as this was the popular 
highway. Thus he might have gained the fame of Stephen 
A. Douglas, but he would not have saved the nation. He 
might have become an aggressive assailant of slavery. Such 
conduct would have made him a political outcast in New 
Salem. In this way, he might have won the renown of a 
Wendell Phillips but he would not have become the national 
helmsman. He was neither abolitionist nor apologist. 

One other way was open. He knew his weakness. The 
* Herndon, 1, 67. 



42 Lvncoln the Politician 

day to strike a blow had not yet come. He held his anger 
and bided his hour. He would not rush, but await the time 
when a blow from his hand would long leave its traces on 
the evil. He turned back to his work and to his associates. 
Objectively, he was the same as ever, but a soul had been 
awakened to the crime of the ages that would not rest until 
the auction block should be shattered and the American soil 
rendered uneasy at the presence of the human auctioneer. 
He knew that sooner or later the occasion for action would 
rejoice his soul. This faith reconciled him to the sluggard 
march of events. 

Some time in the summer of 1831, there drifted into the 
thriving village of New Salem one who was to add lustre to 
her name. Some days later Minter Graham, the school mas- 
ter, was "short of a clerk" at election. Asking a tall 
stranger if he could write, he was met with the quaint reply 
that he could make a few rabbit marks. "Lincoln," says the 
school man, "performed the duties with great facilit}'^, much 
fairness, and honesty and impartiality. This was the first 
public official act of his life." ^ 

Lincoln first gained prestige in New Salem through his 
droll stories. It was the fast road to the good will of an 
audience. Li those days when amusement was scant it was 
no mean gift. It was then a kind of legal tender for a 
dinner or similar hospitality, and in a pioneer community 
popular favor is a harbinger of high honor. Lincoln found 
little to do until he became the chief clerk of the presuming 
store of Denton Offutt. Here he rapidly won the regard of 
the listener and participated in many discussions; here he 
met and talked with the people, and he made another advance 
in the public esteem. 

Like many pioneer communities New Salem was largely 
•Lamon, 89. 



The Political Hero of New Salem 43 

dominated by a rough crowd of young men, known there as 
the "Clary GroA^e Boys." They were typical of the class in 
Illinois that stubbornly yielded to the reign of the law. The}' 
rapidly disappeared in settled communities, but in the out- 
lying towns, for a long time, they maintained their power. 
Usually acting in unison, they were much sought by those 
seeking political preferment. They attended church, heard 
the sermon, wept and pra3'ed, shouted, got up and fought an 
hour, and then went back to prayer just as the spirit moved 
them.® Rude and even cruel to the traveler, they made mercy 
the companion of the orphan. They had no sympathy for 
weakness, or patience with culture. No stranger could attain 
standing in their affection unless he proved his worth in the 
gantlet of a physical contest with one of their leaders. 

The enthusiasm of Offutt for Lincoln was boundless. He 
declared that, "Abe knew more than any man in the United 
States," that "he would some day be President of the United 
States." All this did not disturb the boys of Clary Grove, 
but when he bragged "that he could, at that present moment, 
outrun, whip or throw down any man in Sangamon County," 
then the pride of the gang was awakened. A bet of ten dol- 
lars was made that Jack Armstrong, their leader, "was a 
better man than Lincoln." The newcomer could not well 
avoid a combat. In the presence of a host of sympathizers 
of the Clary Grove leader, the fight began. Lincoln put 
forth his strength and the crowd saw Armstrong's supremacy 
endangered. In the heat of the fra}^ they forgot the rules 
of fair fighting and broke through the ring. This angered 
Lincoln, and with a giant's effort, he gathered their cham- 
pion in his arms and shook him like a child. Lincoln's bear- 
ing won the regard of Armstrong. He grasped the hand 
of the victor, proclaiming in the presence of his followers 

•History of Sangamon County, 211. 



44 Lincoln the Politician 

that Lincoln was the best fellow that ever broke into the 
settlement.^ A wonderful friendship resulted. "Whenever 
Lincoln worked Jack 'did his loafing' ; and, when Lincoln 
was out of work, he spent days and weeks together at Jack's 
cabin, where Jack's jolly wife, 'old Hannah,' stuffed him 
with bread and honey, laughed at his ugliness, and loved 
him for his goodness." ^ 

This was an eventful occasion in the life of Lincoln. The 
humble ask little of friendship and give much. A lover of 
the law, in a single hour he became the idol of the lawless 
element in New Salem. From that time, they submitted to 
his guidance. Respect for liis strength grew into admira- 
tion for his learning. Slowly and surely, the latest addition 
to the gang tempered its harshness. As a member, he 
achieved what would have been impossible as a stranger. 
He loved their virtues, and was gentle with their vices. So 
it was that, though he did not drink or smoke with them, 
they did not think the less of him. Lincoln did not laud 
his freedom from failing, so they were patient as children 
with him, even in his chiding. The source of his influence 
was sympathy, and not ability ; solidity of character, not 
brilliancy; the simple virtues, not genius. 

Lincoln was dowered with supreme physical strength. 
Rumor claimed that he could lift a load of a thousand 
pounds. This renown brought him further influence with 
the rougher element. He was also skilled in manual labor. 
A settler relates that he was the best hand at husking corn 
on the stalk that he ever saw. He grew in the estimate of 
the farmers around New Salem, in a community where agri- 
culture was almost the sole source of wealth and prosperity. 

Lincoln's boyish enthusiasm for athletic events was doubt- 
less somewhat calmed with passing years. As other inter- 
^ Lamon, 90-94. • Ibid. 93-94. 



The Political Hero of New Salem 46 

ests dawned on him he was persuaded to concern himself 
with horse races and other games of chance more than his 
judgment advised. An admirer states, "I got Lincoln, who 
was at the race, to be a judge of the race, much against his 
will, and after hard persuasion. Lincoln decided correctly ; 
and the other judge said 'Lincoln is the fairest man I ever 
had to deal with; if Lincoln is in this country when I die, I 
want him to be my administrator, for he is the only man I 
ever met with that was wholly and unselfishly honest.' " ^ 

The steamer Talisman in 1832 made a trip to determine 
the navigability of the Sangamon. Lincoln was selected as 
helmsman from Beardstown to New Salem. The Talisman 
on the return trip "stuck" at the mill dam. Equal to the 
emergency, Lincoln "rigged up" an apparatus in the pres- 
ence of the entire assembly of New Salem. All were sure 
that he had saved the steamer. The trip was of vast worth 
to Lincoln. Making several speeches and shaking hands with 
every one, in this one week, he learned to know more people 
than he would have otherwise met in many months.^*' 

Lincoln was not only honest, but men trusted him. His 
personality pervaded the community. So a biographer 
states, "I once asked Rowan Herndon what induced him to 
make such liberal terms in dealing with Lincoln, whom he 
had known for so short a time." "I believed that he was 
thoroughly honest," was the reply, "and that impression 
was so strong in me that I accepted his note in payment of 
the whole. He had no money, but I would have advanced 
him still more if he had asked for it." ^^ 

Lincoln was not endowed with business skill. The only 
failure he ever made in life was as a merchant. He had no 
capacity for business. His partner claimed that Lincoln 
could wrap himself up in a great moral question ; but that 

"Lamon, 154. "Ross, 112. Lamon, 81-83. "Herndon, 1, 98. 



46 Lmcoln the Politician 

in dealing with the financial and commercial interests of a 
community or government he was as inadequate as he was 
managing the economy of his own household, and that in 
that respect alone he always regarded Mr. Lincoln as a 
weak man.^^ 

Lincoln's fairness vied with his sympathy in giving him a 
peculiar influence over his fellowmen. He made peace a daily 
guest of the rude crowd. His method was novel in New 
Salem. A stranger, angered by the abuse of Jack Arm- 
strong, struck him a blow that felled the giant. Lincoln 
made himself the judge of the event. "Well, Jack," said he, 
"what did you say to the man .?" Whereupon Jack repeated 
the words. "Well, Jack," replied Abe, "if you were a stran- 
ger in a strange town, as this man is, and you were called a 

d d liar, &;c., what would you do.?" "Whip him, by 

God!" "Then this man has done no more to you than you 
would have done to him." "Well, Abe," said the honest 
bruiser, "it's all right," and, taking his opponent by the 
hand, forgave him heartily, and "treated." "Jack" always 
treated his victim when he thought he had been too hard upon 
him.^^ 

Esteemed for his strength he was loved for his kindness. 
None could resist the charm of his help to the poor and the 
lowly, to the waifs of misfortune. Ab, a barefooted fellow, 
was chopping wood on a wintry day to earn a dollar that he 
might buy a pair of shoes. Lincoln, seeing his plight, seized 
the axe, and soon the job was done. The story runs that 
"Ab remembered this act with the liveliest gratitude. Once 
he, being a cast-iron Democrat, determined to vote against 
his party and for Mr. Lincoln ; but the friends, as he after- 
wards said with tears in his eyes, made him drunk, and he 
had voted against Abe." ^^ Chandler, a poor settler, desir- 
" Herndon, 1, 165-6. " Lamon, 94-95. " Ibid., 152-153. 



The Political Hero of New Salem 47 

ing to enter a small tract of land that was coveted by a rich 
neighbor, started for Springfield at the same time with his 
rival and on the same mission. On the way Chandler met 
Lincoln. Noticing that the horse of Chandler could not 
stand a forced march, Lincoln gave him his horse — fresh and 
full of grit. Between the two, a friendship sprang up which 
all the political discords of twenty-five years never shattered 
nor strained.^^ 

He was active in the first debating organization of New 
Salem. Those who knew him for his strength were amazed 
at the logic of liis statements. The president of this society 
said to his wife that there was more in Abe's head than wit 
and fun; that he was already a fine speaker; that he only 
lacked culture to enable him to reach the high destiny in 
store for him. Thereafter the president displayed a deeper 
interest in his progress. During one of the debates, Lincoln 
dashed into a controversy on slavery, dilating on its malig- 
nancy, deploring the dark and hopeless state of the poor 
white man. With discernment he placed his hand on the 
mischief, the creation of an aristocracy in a republic ; the 
resulting conflict between the doctrine of the fathers and 
that of the children ; between the North and the South. His 
discussion ranged over the consequences. He pictured the 
grapple of opposing principles ; a land drenched with frater- 
nal blood.^^ A biographer is justified in contending that he 
became as familiar for the goodness of his understanding as 
for the muscular power of his body, and the unfailing humor 
of his talk.i^ 

With the arrival of spring in 1832, the Black Hawk War 
broke out. A company was organized in Sangamon County 
for immediate service. The first fruit of Lincoln's popu- 
larity with "the boys" was his decisive election as captain. 
"Herndon, 1, 115-116. "Maltby, 33. "Lamon, 96. 



48 Lvncoln the Politician 

His opponent was a man of means. The manner of election 
was democratic. Lincoln and his antagonist stood some 
distance apart, while the men showed their preference by 
taking their place near the man of their choice. The one 
with the most adherents was selected for leadership. Lin- 
coln made a very modest speech to his comrades, expressing 
his gratification, and telling them how undeserved he thought 
it was and promised that he would do the best he could to 
prove himself worthy of their confidence.^^ 

The captain needed the mastery of his temper to control 
the lawless spirit of the volunteers. Accustomed to be 
cajoled in poUtics, they were not ready for obedience even 
in the shadow of war. A story has been told that Capt. 
Lincoln's first command was answered by being told to "go 
to the devil." ^^ 

Lincoln was jealous of the welfare of his men. Thinking 
them maltreated, he told an officer of the regular army that 
they were volunteers under the regulations of Illinois, and 
that resistance would thereafter be made to unjust orders; 
that his men must be equal in all particulars, in rations, 
arms and camps, to the regular army. The officer saw that 
Lincoln was right, and thereafter they were treated like the 
regular army. This efficient service in behalf of the volun- 
teers drew officers and rank to him.^^ 

During the march a peaceable Indian strayed into camp 
and was at the mercy of the soldiers. This old man showed 
a letter from General Cass testifying to his fidelity; the 
enraged men pronounced it a forgery, and rushed upon him. 
The captain stepped between. "Men, this must not be done. 
He must not be shot and killed by us." The passion of the 
mob was stayed by tliis exhibition of courage, not allayed. 
One bolder than his fellows cried out, "This is cowardly on 

"Lamon, 101-102. "Stevens, 277. '"'Lamon, 111. 



The Political Hero of New Salem 49 

your part, Lincoln." The captain towered in lonely power. 
"If any man thinks I am a coward let him test it." A new 
voice was heard, "You are larger and heavier than we are." 
"This you can easily guard against. Choose your weapons." 
The word coward was never again coupled with his name. 
"He has often declared himself, that his life and character 
were both at stake, and would probably have been lost, had 
he not at that supremely critical moment forgotten the 
officer, and asserted the man. To have ordered the offenders 
under arrest would have created a formidable mutiny ; to 
have tried and punished them would have been impossible. 
They could scarcely be called soldiers ; they were merely 
armed citizens, with a nominal military organization. They 
were but recently enlisted, and their term of service was 
just about to expire. Had he preferred charges against 
them, and offered to submit their differences to a court of 
any sort, it would have been regarded as an act of personal 
pusillanimity, and his efficiency would have been gone for- 
ever." ^^ 

Lincoln and other volunteers arrived home just before the 
State election. That New Salem should present Lincoln as 
a candidate for the Legislature was the natural culmination 
of his position in the community. His friends were heart 
and soul in the cause. His record as a soldier increased the 
interest of his companions and his associates in the election. 

Lincoln allied himself with the Whig organization and 
championed its principles. The popular party in Sangamon 
County prided themselves on their devotion to Andrew Jack- 
son. They derisively called their opponents "Federalists," 
while the latter struggled "to shuille off the odious name."^^ 
Lamon argues that Lincoln was a nominal Jackson man on 
the ground that he received the votes of all parties at New 

"Lamon, 109. ^ Ibid., 122. 



50 Lincoln the Politician 

Salem, that he was the next year appointed postmaster by 
General Jackson ; that the Democrats ran him for the Legis- 
lature two years later, and that he was elected by a larger 
majority than any other candidate."^ These reasons are 
without weight. Party lines at the time were not yet closely 
drawn, and the supreme personal popularity of Lincoln suf- 
fered little from the partisanship of that period. It is a 
distinct mark of Lincoln's courage and liis love of principle 
that he devoted himself to the weaker party of Illinois. 
Selfish ambition would have advised alliance with the domi- 
nant organization. Still, the better element in Sangamon 
County was largely attracted to the Whig side. Lincoln 
coming from the company of the Clary Grove boys, enthusi- 
asts for Jackson, fearlessly decided his political relations. 
National history might have been changed if Abraham Lin- 
coln had consulted his companions, or temporary interest in 
the selection of party affiliation. 

After his return from the war, he threw himself into the 
campaign of 1832. In his first speech, just as he started, 
he saw that a friend was getting worsted in a fight near by. 
Hurrying from the platform, he grasped the offender and 
threw him some ten feet away. He then again mounted the 
eminence and delivered the following address : "Gentlemen and 
Fellow Citizens, I presume you all know who I am. I am 
humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by many 
friends to become a candidate for the Legislature. My 
politics are short and sweet, like the old woman's dance. I 
am in favor of a national bank. I am in favor of the internal 
improvement system and a high protective tariff. These are 
my sentiments and political principles. If elected, I shall 
be thankful ; if not, it ^vill be all the same." ^* 

Making a speech under such conditions was a more thor- 
=»Lamon, 123-124. '"Ibid., 125-126. 



The Political Hero of New Salem 61 

ough preparation for the activities of life than the training 
of schools and even universities afford its votaries. This talk 
is frank and bold. It early avows sentiments hostile to the 
administration in power. It reveals the "Whiggism" of the 
orator. It is a product of the times ; a speech to be expected 
from a young speaker sensitive to his surroundings. 

The testimony of Judge Logan shows that Lincoln had in 
his youth a mature mind. "He was a very tall, gawky, and 
rough looking fellow then ; his pantaloons didn't meet his 
shoes by six inches. But after he began speaking I became 
very much interested in him. He made a very sensible speech. 
His manner was very much the same as in after life; that 
is, the same peculiar characteristics were apparent then, 
though of course in after years he evinced more knowledge 
and experience. But he had then the same novelty and the 
same peculiarity in presenting his ideas. He had the same 
individuality that he kept through all his life." ^^ 

A companion allows us a view of Lincoln as a politician at 
this period. Deferential to the rich, agreeable to the poor, 
he was at home everywhere. He talked with the husband 
and wife about their hopes in life, about the school and 
the farm. The mother would hear with joy of her fine chil- 
dren ; Willie was the image of father ; Sarah the most beau- 
tiful, and looked like her mother. The distribution of nuts 
and candy captured the children. During the preparation 
for supper, he would walk over the farm with his host, and be 
shown its worth. After the meal he would tell the boys and 
girls stories of the trials of frontier life in Indiana. He thus 
secured the esteem of all. 

Early in this campaign, he issued a political circular. This 
first written address of Lincoln should command attention. 
It contains abundant evidence of close thinking, political 
« Nicolay & Hay, 1, 108. 



62 Lincoln the Politician 

sagacity and quaint utterance. This youthful appeal of 
Lincoln is a sober production expressing thoughts that go 
straight to the mind. The circular is conclusive that his 
style and his thought were not altogether the fruition of his 
maturity. 

The address deals mainly with the navigability of the 
Sangamon River. No theme was closer to the people in the 
county. The arrival of the steamer Talisman had been 
hailed with rapture. A newspaper thus gave utterance to 
the common feeling: "We congratulate our farmers, our me- 
chanics, our merchants and our professional men, for the 
rich harvest in prospect, and we cordially invite emigrating 
citizens from other states, whether rich or poor, if so they 
are industrious and honest, to come thither and partake of 
the good things of Sangamon." ^^ The enthusiasm reached 
the women, for they indulged in a grand ball to honor the 
occasion. ^^ The ardent championship of this vain proposal, 
for it was never either effected or seriously attempted, is 
proof that Lincoln was a student of popularity. At this 
period he proclaimed the doctrine that the representative of 
the people should reflect the known views of his constitu- 
ency.^^ 

He next paid heed to the problem of usury. Money, al- 
ways seeking the highest bidder, preyed on the industry of 
the people. The common contract rate was about fifty per 
cent. In many instances it rose to more than one hundred, 
and unfortunates even paid two or three times as much."^ 
"It seems," Lincoln said, "as though we are never to have 
an end to this baneful and corroding system, acting almost 
as prejudicial to the general interests of the community as 
a direct tax of several thousand dollars annually laid on 

*' History of Sangamon County, 53. "^ Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 7. 
"/bid, =»Lamon, 133. 



I 



The Political Hero of New Salem 63 

each county for the benefit of a few individuals only, unless 
there be a law made fixing the limits of usury. A law for 
this purpose, I am of the opinion, may be made without 
materially injuring any class of people. In cases of extreme 
necessity, there could always be means found to cheat the 
law; while in other cases it would have its intended effect. I 
would favor the passage of a law on this subject which might 
not be easily evaded. Let it be such that the labor and diffi- 
culty of evading it could only be justified in cases of great- 
est necessity." ^" This rather remarkable admission is inter- 
esting in view of his subsequent utterances on the sacred en- 
forcement of all laws lest single relaxations prove an induce- 
ment for other violation. ^^ 

A rather becoming modesty pervades the conclusion of 
his address. He maintained that he might be wrong in 
regard to any or all the subjects he discussed, declaring that 
it was better only sometimes to be right than at all times to 
be wrong, that he was ready to renounce his opinions as soon 
as he discovered them to be erroneous. ^^ 

"Every man," he observed, "is said to have his peculiar 
ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say for one that 
I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of 
my fellow-men, by rendering myself worthy of their es- 
teem." ^^ This illumines our limited knowledge of his attitude 
toward an essential problem of life. Lincoln did not fling 
away ambition. With patient footstep he restlessly followed 
the vision of higher place along the road of helpful service 
to his fellow-men. As he rose in influence, he never forsook 
his early ideals ; that the measure of success was worthiness 
and not station, that power was only respectable as it was 
mercifully exercised. He believed that altruistic responsibil- 

»" Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 3. ^Ubid., 4. 

■"76^., 12. ^Ibid. 



54 Lincoln the Politician 

ity expanded with growing opportunities. His good deeds, 
not his personal wants, grew with his growth. 

He did not rest with an appeal to the reason of men. He 
deftly put in motion the human chord in democracy that 
vibrates to the poor and the struggling. He declared that 
he was young and unknown ; that he was born, and would 
ever remain, in the most humble walks of life ; that he had no 
wealthy or popular relations or friends to recommend him; 
that his case was thrown exclusively upon the independent 
voters of the county ; and that, if elected, they would have 
conferred a favor upon liim, for which he would be unremit- 
ting in his labors to compensate.^* 

"But, if the good people," he concluded, "in their wisdom 
shall see fit to keep me in the background, I have been too 
familiar with disappointments to be very much chagrined." ^^ 
Suffused with seeming humor and the pathos of half hidden 
tragedy this averment brings us face to face with a life re- 
luctantly asserting its individuality. It is hardly strange 
that one who pronounces himself a companion of many dis- 
appointments when only twenty-three years old should soon 
get the name of "Old Abe." Sorrow had already left its 
traces on liis heart and brain, so that the appellation was 
fitting. Still, he encountered uncomplainingly the exigencies 
of human events. 

"The Democrats of New Salem worked for Lincoln out of 
their personal regard for him. That was the general un- 
derstanding of the matter here at the time. In this he made 
no concession of principle whatever. He was as stiff as a 
man could be in his Whig doctrines. They did this for him 
simply because he was popular — because he was Lincoln." ^^ 
Despite the efforts of his friends in New Salem, Lincoln was 

»* Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 4. " Nicolay & Hay, 1, 102-103. 

"= Ibid. 



The Political Hero of New Salem 65 

yet too little known to be elected a representative of Sanga- 
mon County. 

One fact stands out boldly. Out of the total 300 votes 
cast in the precinct of New Salem, where he was best known, 
Lincoln received 277.^^ This did not pass without the scru- 
tiny of those who studied the details of local politics. It 
revealed an amazing popularity. It was a defeat that prac- 
ticed politicians knew betokened future triumphs. It marked 
the trail of a triumphing career in the common course of 
events. With ardent pride, he later said of this defeat, that 
it was the only time he was ever beaten on a direct vote of 
the people. ^^ 

John Calhoun, a stalwart Democrat, a surveyor in Sanga- 
mon County, and later infamous in Kansas history, needed 
a deputy. He selected Lincoln, who thereupon retreated to a 
farm of the schoolmaster Graham, where he studied a book 
on surveying. Struggling with the task for six weeks, he 
came forth prepared for his new work. He so mastered the 
subject that he became renowned for the accuracy of his 
measurements. "If I can be perfectly free," Lincoln is re- 
ported to have said, "in my political action, I will take the 
office, but if my sentiments or even expression of them is to 
be abridged in any way I would not have it or any other 
ofBce.""''^ This story is rather heroic. The work was of a 
business character, and politics did not dictate every act of 
Calhoun ; he was wilhng to help a worthy ambitious young 
man. On the other hand, the store of Lincoln had "winked 
out" ; he had nothing to do ; he was eager to enter into an 
honorable vocation without an inquisition into the motives 
of Calhoun. It was a friendly act without any suggestion 
of political obligation; a kindly service that cemented a 

" Nicolay & Hay, 1, 109. Tarbell, 1, 91. »» Herndon, 1, 111. 
"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 641, 



56 Lmcohb the Politician ' 

friendship never severed, though they met as rivals on the 
field of controversy. Even in the days when it was common 
to blacken the name of Calhoun, Lincohi never joined in the 
general hue and cry.^*^ 

The acceptance of the office of postmaster at New Salem, 
under the administration of General Jackson, had no par- 
ticular bearing upon the political views of Abraham Lincoln. 
The office was of so little monetary importance, that Lincoln 
carried its whole contents in his hat. He was the only man 
of standing in the community that could afford to give it 
abundant attention for the small pay. The office was doubt- 
less freely tendered, the more freely as Lincoln was not of a 
partisan temperament. It was of value to him. It enabled 
him to be of service and thus gain the good will of many. 
He readily made known the contents of letters to the illiter- 
ate. He also read aloud to the inhabitants gathered at the 
store, all the news from the recent papers.'*^ 

"The first time I ever saw Abe with a law-book in his hand," 
says Squire Godbey, "he was sitting astride Jake Bale's wood 
pile in New Salem. Says I, 'Abe, what are you studying.'" — 
'Law,' says Abe. 'Great God Almighty !' responded I." '^'^ 
Lincoln states in his campaign biography that one of his 
fellow candidates. Major John T. Stuart, in his first canvass 
encouraged him to study law, and that after election he bor- 
rowed books of Stuart and went at it in good earnest. He 
also states that he never studied with anybody.^^ 

During his legal apprenticeship of three or four years, he 
was at the call of every citizen. He wrote deeds, contracts 
and other legal papers, and often appeared before the local 
Justice of the Peace. All this service was free. He was 
not forgotten by those he helped. Even when he moved to 

«Lamon, 148. ^'^ Ibid., 140. 

*^Ibid, "Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 642. 



The Political Hero of New Salem 57 

Springfield, his New Salem friends found that his counsel was 
ever at their disposal. His door was as open to poverty as 
to riches. His study of the law widened the exercise of his 
sympathy and liis usefulness. Then, too, every satisfied 
client was likely to become a political supporter. 

It would have been amazing if Lincoln had come short of 
being the hero of New Salem. He won "golden opinions" 
from every class of men. His popularity had a substantial 
basis. He rode into favor on the tide of service to his fellow- 
men. Wholesale dispenser of laughter and sympathy, clerk 
at a store of the village, athlete of renown, arbiter of fights 
and games, pilot on a memorable journey, a debater of singu- 
lar skill, an orator commanding attention, a sincere student, 
a soldier of some distinction, popular postmaster, a skilled 
surveyor, and later a lawyer and legislator — master in all 
these relations, he proved his worth and value to the com- 
munity. No man was more thoroughly gifted in the quali- 
ties of manhood and character that lodge in the human heart. 
He took up the harp of pioneer life and smote all "the vital 
chords with might." Attuned to the lowly sentiments, to the 
humble ways and the hardships of the people of the prairie, 
his sympathies were as broad as the plains of Sangamon 
County. The drunkard, the outcast, the children and the 
women, the rowdy and the ruffian, the teacher, the store keep- 
er, and politicians, all were his friends. He was odd in liking 
so many of his kind, in the universality of his sympathies. 

While Lincoln acted from a "full warm heart," policy 
could not have dictated wiser conduct for a political career. 
Could genius have planned the course, it would not have 
added greater skill to its success. His very faults were the 
highway to public esteem. Almost every man, each woman 
and child in New Salem were gladdened by his honest hand 
shake, the cheer of his voice and the charm of his character. 



CHAPTER IV 



PRACTICAL LEGISLATOR 



npHE fame of Lincoln as a law student and lawyer, as 
-■■ surveyor and postmaster, spread beyond New Salem, and 
the qualities that had attracted local distinction continued 
to find him admirers in a broader world. He steadily gained 
headway with an ever growing audience. 

Naturally, the Whigs gave him concerted support as one 
of their candidates for the Legislature of 1834. In addition 
he made large inroads into the Democratic party. Its lead- 
ers sought to diminish the strength his name would add to 
the Whig ticket by adopting him as one of their candidates.^ 
The flattering proposal was not swallowed by Lincoln. He 
realized that acceptance might involve estrangement from 
his own party — no small matter for one who was ambitious 
politically. He was wise enough to counsel with the leading 
Whigs and his personal friends as to the prudence of such 
an alliance. They advised an agreement. It is claimed by 
Lamon that Lincoln and Dawson made a bargain with the 
Democratic party that nearly demoralized the Whigs, decid- 
edly weakening the vote of their favorite champion, Major 
Stuart.^ In fact, the alliance was more disastrous to the 
enemy. The Whigs fared well, as it was, in the campaign ; 
and in a year or two, Sangamon County, a former strong- 
hold of Jackson, passed into the control of the followers of 
Clay. 

^ Lamon, 155-156. Ubid., 156. 

68 



Practical Legislator 69 

We have no evidence as to whether Lincohi was less a par- 
tisan in the campaign as the result of Democratic endorse- 
ment. It was largely a "hand shaking" canvass, a man to 
man combat. Affable to every one, Lincoln was master 
in this mode of securing support. On one occasion he came 
upon thirty men in a field. They declared they would not 
vote for a man unless he could make a hand. "Well, boys," 
said he, "if that is all, I am sure of your votes." Taking 
hold of the cradle, he led the way all the round with perfect 
ease, and the boys were satisfied.^ 

"The next day he was speaking at Berlin. He went from 
my house with Dr. Barnett, the man that had asked me who 
this man Lincoln was. I told him that he was a candidate 
for the Legislature. He laughed and said, 'Can't the party 
raise no better material than that.'" I said, 'Go to-morrow, 
and hear all before you pronounce judgment.' When he 
came back, I said, 'Doctor, what say you now.'" 'Why, sir,' 
said he, 'he is a perfect take-in; he knows more than all of 
them put together.' "* 

"Mr. J. R. Herndon, his friend and landlord, heard him 
make several speeches about this time, and gives us the fol- 
lowing extract from one, which seems to have made a special 
impression upon the minds of his auditors : 'Fellow citizens, 
I have been told that some of my opponents have said that 
it was a disgrace to the County of Sangamon to have such 
a looking man as I am stuck up for the Legislature. Now, 
I thought this was a free country ; that is the reason I ad- 
dress you to-day. Had I known to the contrary, I should 
not have consented to run ; but I will say one thing, let the 
shoe pinch where it may; when I have been a candidate be- 
fore you five or six times, and have been beaten every time, 
I will consider it a disgrace, and will be sure never to try it 

" Lamon, 166. * Ibid. 



60 Lmcoln the Politician 

again ; but I am bound to beat that man if I am beat myself. 
Mark that!'" 5 

Voting at this period was viva voce and not by ballot. 
One seeking the vote of Lincoln, pompously supported him. 
Lincoln thereupon voted against that candidate. Those who 
witnessed the action marveled much and approved his con- 
duct.® At this election, of the four successful candidates 
for Sangamon County, Dawson received 1390 votes ; Lincoln 
followed with 1376. Stuart, the popular Whig, had nearly 
200 votes less.^ These figures speak with eloquence of the 
advance made by the surveyor in two years. 

"After he was elected to the Legislature," says Mr. Smoot, 
"he came to my house one day in company with Hugh 
Armstrong. Says he, 'Smoot, did you vote for me.^" I told 
him I did. 'Well,' says he, 'you must loan me money to buy 
suitable clothing, for I want to make a decent appear- 
ance in the Legislature.' I then loaned him two hundred 
dollars, which he returned to me according to promise." ^ 

Compelled by events to be his own teacher, Lincoln learned 
to depend on his own resources. Reared in a rough school, 
accustomed to be a leader among his intellectual inferiors, 
still, in all humility, he looked to his legislative experience 
with joy. Deprecating his kind of education, open minded 
he anxiously awaited the privilege of associating with many 
of the leading men of the State. There gathered at the Capi- 
tol its best blood, the choice sons of Illinois, the representa- 
tives of the ambition, the intelligence, and the popularity of 
the State. "The society of Vandalia and the people attracted 
thither by the Legislature made it, for that early day, a gay 
place indeed. Compared to Lincoln's former environments, it 
had no lack of refinement and polish. That he absorbed a 

»Lamon, 127. ^ Herndon, 1, 118. 

» Nicolay & Hay, 1, 67. ' Lamon, 157. 



Practical Legislator 61 

good deal of this by contact with the men and women who 
surrounded him, there can be no doubt. "The 'drift of senti- 
ment and the sweep of civilization' at this time can best be 
measured by the character of the legislation. There were 
acts to incorporate banks, turnpikes, bridges, insurance com- 
panies, towns, railroads and female academies. The vigor 
and enterprise of New England fusing with the illusory pres- 
tige of Kentucky and Virginia was fast forming a new civili- 
zation to spread over the prairies." ^ 

Lincoln with modesty remained a witness of the doings 
of the Legislature. Content to wait for the fitting time to 
make an impression, he did not rush into debate. It was a 
scouting period. Scanty of talk, rich in thought, ever on 
the lookout for information, steady in attendance, studying 
parliamentary procedure, he gained a name for solidity, far 
better than brilliancy or oratory for real influence in a 
legislative body.^'^ 

Lincoln forgot the prudence expressed in his first circular, 
for he jumped into the movement that hurried along the in- 
ternal improvement policy. His practice was behind his 
theory in matters of finance. 

Lincoln made little stir in this session, he took no glorious 
part in its deliberations, and made no record for independ- 
ence. He usually voted with the members of his party. He 
became grounded in the finesse of law making, an art whose 
acquirement and importance are seldom considered. For 
method as well as merit is an element in the making of the 
statute. Still, in measuring himself with his associates, he 
gained confidence and found that he was not far behind in 
the training for political prosperity. While he would not 
deceive, he learned how not to be deceived. He discovered 
that men in the Senate are not of a far different order from 

»Herndon, 1, 155. "/6id. 



62 Lmcoln the Politician 

those in the field; that culture often hides a mean soul; that 
polish is often the tinsel of education. He remained the 
same Lincoln, longing for the reality of the old life without 
pretense. He was content to return to his admirers in Clary 
Grove, with no exaltation or pride in his new distinction as 
legislator. 

A special session of the Legislature was held in December, 
1835. One of the evils of the time was the eagerness of 
representatives for public offices of a more permanent char- 
acter than the uncertain tenure of popular election. New 
offices were constantly created. Lincoln took a bold stand on 
the danger. He voted with the majority that the election 
of a member of the Legislature to a State office was corrupt- 
ing. He voted with the minority to apply the principle also 
to relatives and connections of the members. Lincoln re- 
mained a persistent supporter of internal improvements. 
Some of the advocates shifted their votes from time to time, 
but he remained constant in his devotion. 

The influence of Lincoln extended over a widening terri- 
tory and his fame spread with new opportunities. After 
two scant years of public life, he was considered among the 
leaders of his party. No longer waiting on the advice of 
friends, he offered himself as a candidate for renomination. 
He initiated his campaign with the following political fulmi- 
nation : 

"To the Editor of the 'Journal : In your paper of last 
Saturday I see a communication, over the signature of 'Many 
Voters,' in which the candidates who are announced in the 
Journal are called upon to 'show their hands.' Agreed, here's 
mine. 

"I go for all sharing the privileges of the government 
who assist in bearing its burdens. Consequently, I go for 
admitting all whites to the right of suffrage who pay taxes 



Practical Legislator 63 

or bear arms (by no means excluding females). 

"If elected, I shall consider the whole people of Sangamon 
my constituents, as well those that oppose as those that 
support me. 

"While acting as their representative, I shall be governed 
by their will on all subjects upon which I have the means 
of knowing what their will is ; and upon all others I shall 
do what my judgment teaches me will best advance their in- 
terests. Whether elected or not, I go for distributing the 
proceeds of the sales of the public lands to the several States, 
to enable our State, in common with others, to dig canals 
and construct railroads without borrowing money and pay- 
ing the interest on it. 

"If alive on the first Monday in November, I shall vote for 
Hugh L. White for President. Very respectfully. A. Lin- 
coln." 11 

In commanding contrast to his first circular, this fairly 
seems to crowd out every dispensable expression. Contact 
with the pioneer had taught him to court the power of 
brevity, so this announcement is more like a creed than an 
address. Homely and curt in character, it suited the time. 
It was the best way to the heart of the average voter. De- 
mocracy found in it its own image. Lincoln leans more than 
a little to the popular. He advocates the distribution of 
the public lands money for the building of canals and rail- 
roads without borrowing money, and openly declares his 
subserviency in being governed by the public will on all ques- 
tions. 

Much attention has been dedicated to the suggestion advo- 
cating an equality of suffrage. This expression loses con- 
siderable significance considering its random character. 
There is little subsequent evidence of his belief in female suf- 
" Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 7. 



64s Lmcoln the Politician 

frage as a wise and just political measure. Still, it may be 
fairly assumed that the untrammeled mind of Lincoln, with 
a sure faith in universal suffrage, followed the cherished doc- 
trine to the end. "All such questions," he observed one day 
to Herndon as they were discussing temperance in his office, 
"must first find lodgment with the most enlightened souls 
who stamp them with their approval. In God's own time 
they will be organized into law and thus woven into the 
fabric of our institutions." ^^ 

The request of candidates to "show their hands" was of 
special significance at this time. It was a transitional pe- 
riod, the parting of ways between the "whole hog Jackson- 
ite" and the moderate Democrat. There was no room for 
lukewarm adherents. It was a period of positive alliance. 
Diplomacy was no longer a factor. The cenber of gravity 
shifted from local to national affairs. Contests became 
partisan controversies on general issues. 

The campaign of 1836 is the low ebb of the old personal 
campaign, where every man fought his own battle on his 
own worth, where the people judged every candidate on 
individual merit. This is the last time seekers of office are 
asked "to show their hand." From that time, political affilia- 
tion and not personal worth began to be the marrow of a 
contest. Partisan devotion submerged personal fealty. The 
people involuntarily created parties, and straightway be- 
came slaves of their own handiwork, selling independence for 
party loyalty. Partisanship held them in its clutches, and 
they hardly dared to loosen its embrace. The man who 
ventured to exercise his judgment was charged with being 
a weakling, or opened himself to the impious accusation in a 
democratic community that he regarded himself greater than 
his party. The vision of the average worker in the ranks 

"Herndon, 1, 158. 



Practical Legislator 65 

became near sighted, and the bias of his judgment knew no 
limit. Party spirit set free an element of discord among 
men that sundered friendships, wrought enmities between 
brothers, and banished reason. From that time even Lin- 
coln ceased to gather any considerable support from his 
political antagonists. 

Lincoln was wise enough to note the tendency of these 
events. Wasting no regrets over the new conditions, he 
bound himself to the partj'^ of his choice without equivoca- 
tion. Fairly but energetically maintaining the sanctity of 
the Whig principles, he became a fearless and feared cham- 
pion of its doctrine. He displayed keen political wisdom 
in this conduct. Partisanship seldom rewards the laggard 
in the day of prosperity. 

That Lincoln entered with zeal into this campaign and 
indulged in the fashion of the day in the issuance of handbills 
of a flaring character, the following is significant evidence : 

"TO THE PEOPLE OF SANGAMON COUNTY— Fel- 
low Citizens : I have this moment been shown a handbill 
signed 'Truth Teller' in which my name is done up in large 
capitals. No one can doubt the object of this attack at 
this late hour. An effort is now made to show that John T. 
Stuart and myself opposed the passage of the bill by which 
the Wiggins loan was paid. The handbill says — the only 
vote taken on the bill when the yeas and nays were taken 
was upon engrossing the bill for a third reading. 'That's a 
lie !' Let the reader refer to pages 124, 125 and 126 of the 
Journal and he will see that the yeas and nays were taken 
tzmce upon the bill after the vote referred to by this lying 
Truth Teller, and he will also see that my course toward 
the bill was anything but unfriendly. It is impossible to 
make a lengthy answer at this late hour. All I have to say 
is that the author is a liar and a scoundrel, and that if he 



66 LmcoT/n the Politician 

will avow the authorship to me, I promise to give his pro- 
boscis a good wringing. A. Lincoln." ^^ 

One of the sure signs of the spirit of increasing partisan- 
ship was the virulence and bitterness of political gatherings. 
Contests between leaders became frequent. Debates were 
had on the prairie that equaled in earnestness senatorial 
controversies. There was all the high tension of the gladi- 
atorial combat intensified by the championship of something 
more than a personal issue — the stake of party principles. 
We are informed that on one occasion a Whig candidate, 
at the top of his voice, branded the statement of a Demo- 
cratic opponent, as false. As passion ran high, a duel 
seemed a likely result. Lincoln followed on the program. 
With his marvelous fairness he discussed the subject gently 
and serenely so as to satisfy friend and foe. Judicial, 
though earnest in advocacy, he fully calmed the tumult.-"^* 

It was doubtless at this time that the following incident 
deeply disturbed his calmness. Something had displeased 
the "wild boys" who had been his supporters from the first. 
Perhaps a rumor that he affected strange ways, or voted 
for some measure not to their liking, caused the trouble. 
The leader at once gave the call and they gathered. Sel- 
dom revealing himself, he then gave freedom to his emotion. 
He told them that he never would forget those who had 
given him his start, the men who stood by him, who had 
made him what he was and all that he hoped to be. He 
bade them if they still cherished unkindness, if they still 
held him guilty, to tear him to pieces limb by limb. The 
generous hearts of the frontiersmen, overcome by tliis un- 
wonted display of feeling, lost all resentment, and the leader 
regained his prestige thus rudely shaken. ^^ 

" Hand bill in possession of Dr. Jayne, Springfield, 111. 
" Lamon, 188. " Oldroyd, 557. 



Practical Legislator 67 

Early in the campaign Lincoln spoke at Springfield. Some 
of the Clary Grove boys and other admirers followed him, 
confident that he would distinguish himself at his first ap- 
pearance. They were not slow in claiming that he would 
make a better stump speech than any one at the county seat. 
He splendidly defended the principles of his party, and pro- 
duced a profound impression. Among his auditors was a 
Mr. Forquer, who had the finest house in Springfield, lately 
protected by the only lightning rod in that locality. For- 
merly a Whig, his apostasy was rewarded with a lucrative 
office. He felt the sting of Lincoln's strong presentation of 
the principles of the Whig party. The recent recruit to the 
Democratic organization replied by a speech able and appar- 
ently fair, still skillfully mingled with sarcasm. Scorn and 
satire were freeely used, so that the anxiety of the friends 
of Lincoln was awakened. Speed relates that his reply to 
Forquer was characterized by great dignity and force ; that 
he would never forget the conclusion of that speech. "Mr. 
Forquer commenced his speech," said Lincoln, "by announc- 
ing that the young man would have to be taken down. It 
is for you, fellow citizens, not for me to say whether I am 
up or down. The gentleman has seen fit to allude to my 
being a young man ; but he forgets that I am older in years 
than I am in tricks and trades of politicians. I desire to 
live, and I desire place and distinction ; but I would rather 
die now than, like the gentleman, live to see the day that I 
would change my politics for an office worth three thousand 
dollars a year, and then feel compelled to erect a lightning 
rod to protect a guilty conscience from an ofTended God." ^^ 

Lincoln showed supreme skill in striking a chord in the 
pioneer heart. He knew the thoughts of the plain people, 
knew that they hated every pretension of manner. For many 
''Herndon, 1, 171-2. 



68 Lincoln the Politician 

years whenever Forquer rose to speak he was pointed at as 
the man who put a lightning rod on his house to ward off the 
vengeance of the Supreme Power.^^ Lincoln was not averse 
to appeal to other sentiments of the people. At a gathering 
of farmers in joint debate with his rival, he said: "I am 
too poor to own a carriage, but my friend has generously 
invited me to ride with him. I want you to vote for me if 
you will; but if not then vote for my opponent, for he is 
a fine man." ^^ 

In this campaign, Lincoln rose to eminence as a political 
speaker. From that time he was one of the stalwart Whigs 
selected by common consent for leadership in the contests 
with their strong disciplined and victorious opponents. Lin- 
coln's services were given popular endorsement. He led all 
the rest of his able associates. ^^ 

In the Legislature of 1836 Lincoln played the part of a 
politician. The external side of his career is described by 
Lamon, who declares that "he was the smartest parlia- 
mentarian and the cunningest 'log roller.' " ^^ 

The State was now aglow with enthusiasm over the pros- 
pects of the policy of Internal Improvements. A few days 
before the Legislature assembled, a mass convention in San- 
gamon County instructed their members to vote for the 
system of Internal improvements.-^ This was one of the 
many manifestations of the public sentiment. 

Lincoln followed the common political ambition of his 
time. He became an aggressive champion of the public Im- 
provement policy. He told his friend Speed, in confidence, 
that he aimed at the great distinction -of being called the 
"De Witt Clinton of Illinois." With many other public men 
of that day he ventured the hope of rivalling the fame of 

^"Herndon, 1, 172. " Herndon, 1, 163. ''Ibid., 196. 

"Tarbell, 1, 130. =« Lamon, 195. 



I 



Practical Legislator 69 

the builder of the Erie Canal.^^ A leading meinber of the 
finance committee, he was foremost in urging the popular 
measures by wliich everybody was to be enriched by some 
stroke of statesmanship, some mysterious manipulation in 
finance. The state loans were to construct railroads, the 
railroads were to build cities ; the cities in turn were to 
create a demand for farms ; capital rushing for investment 
was to follow, and lands were steadily to rise in value. The 
tax on real estate was to go into a sinking fund, and thus 
shuffle off local assessment. In this fine way taxation was 
to be banished. ^^ With untiring step many followed the 
vision. Politics as well as fancy every now and then has its 
lamp of Aladdin. 

No one voted more persistently for local and State im- 
provements, relief acts and the incorporation of organiza- 
tions, than Abraham Lincoln. This was not done in dark- 
ness. The solemn protest of some sane members was put 
forth against the prevailing folly that held its repeated 
jubilations in the Legislature. They commented on the 
madness of the immense schemes, on the multitude of officers 
with ample salaries. They dimly prophesied shadow and 
gloom to the hopes of the enamored majority.^* Another 
resolution advising consultation with the people before bor- 
rowing money for all the contemplated enterprises received 
only nine votes. Lincoln was not among that eminent mi- 
nority. ^^ 

Governor Ford makes the following stinging comment on 
those who put into operation the internal improvement pol- 
icy: They have been excused upon the ground that they 
were instructed to vote as they did, and that they had every 
right to believe that they were truly reflecting the will of their 

" Benton, 1, 22, Lamon, p. 195. -' House Journal of 1836-37, G80. 
'' Lamon, 197. " Ibid., 367. 



70 Lincoln the Politician 

constituents. But members ought to resign such small offices, 
to sacrifice a petty ambition, rather than become the willing 
tools of a deluded people, to bring so much calamity upon 
the country.^® 

The chief task of Lincoln and the other members of the 
Sangamon delegation in the tenth biennial session of the 
Legislature was to secure the removal of the capital from 
Vandalia to Springfield. This called forth his utmost inge- 
nuity. Many rivals sought the prize. It was no mean 
problem to grasp victory from a crowd of contending com- 
munities. Lincoln set himself resolutely to the practical 
problem. It demanded patience, skill and every art of the 
legislator. Twice its enemies laid the Springfield bill on 
the table. He gathered his despairing associates for counsel 
in the hour of seeming defeat. The bill was squeezed 
through at the last moment. 

Governor Ford and other Democrats seriously believed, 
and long repeated the charge, that the "Long Nine," as the 
Sangamon delegation was called, "log rolled the removal" 
through the Legislature. Nicolay and Hay, however, con- 
tend that the removal was due to the adroit management of 
Mr. Lincoln — first in inducing all the rival claimants to unite 
in a vote to move the capital from Vandalia, and then carry- 
ing a direct vote for Springfield through the joint conven- 
tion by assistance of the Southern counties. They cite as 
evidence of this personal influence of Lincoln the statement 
of a legislator: "He made Webb and me vote for the re- 
moval, though we belonged to the southern part of the state. 
We defended our vote before our constituents by saying 
that necessity would ultimately force the seat of government 
to a central position. But in reality we gave the vote to 
Lincoln because we liked him, because we wanted to oblige 

*'Ford, 196. 



Practical Legislator 71 

our friend, and because we recognized him as our leader." ^"^ 
This statement is not sufficient to meet the contention that 
the removal was cunningly attained. The personal power 
of Lincoln with some legislators may have been an availing 
factor. Still the majority of the lawmakers were men 
moved mainly by material considerations. It is not reason- 
able to assume that in voting on a vital and important 
proposition they would not highly consider its effect on their 
own measures ; that they would enable the Sangamon delega- 
tion to return triumphantly to their constituents without 
some understanding of reciprocity. That Lincoln reluc- 
tantly or otherwise made some peculiar alliances or en- 
gaged in some questionable strategy may be reasonably 
deduced from the admission: "I also tacked a provision onto 
a fellow's bill, to authorize the relocation of the road from 
Salem down to your town, but I am not certain whether or 
not the bill passed. Neither do I suppose I can ascertain 
before the law will be published — if it is a law."^^ 

Still there is stirring evidence that Lincoln would not 
barter his principles even for the success of his most cher- 
ished purpose in that session. An effort was made to unite 
the friends of Springfield with those of a measure Lincoln 
refused to sanction. Every argument was used to influence 
Mr. Lincoln to yield his objections, and thus secure the 
removal of the capital to his own city, but without effect. 
Finally after midnight, when the candles were burning low 
in the room, he rose amid the silence and solemnity which 
prevailed, and made an eloquent and powerful speech, say- 
ing in conclusion: "You may burn my body to ashes, and 
scatter them to the winds of heaven ; you may drag my soul 
down to the regions of darkness and despair to be tormented 
forever; but you will never get me to support a measure 

" Nicolay & Hay, 138-139. =» Tarbell, 1, 137. 



72 Lincoln the Politician 

which I believe to be wrong, although by doing so I may 
accomplish that which I believe to be right." * 

In matters involving method and detail, he used every art 
of the politician. Still when principle was at stake, he 
would not bow to expediency. With rare precision, he 
keenly followed the hazy border land between principle and 
policy. In securing results, he surpassed common politi- 
cians ; in fealty to integrity he rivalled the patriot. 

The year 1837 was a crucial period in many respects for 
Lincoln. He had steadily moved forward until he became 
the leader of New Salem. He had shown superior skill 
as a local politician. But his future as lawyer and politi- 
cian in New Salem was already bounded. With his success 
as a legislator and the applause of larger communities, his 
longing for fame and power grew stronger. With no keen 
regret, he sundered the ties that bound him to Clary Grove 
where his word was law, to enter upon a life of more varied 
and extensive character. His entrance into Springfield was 
as humble as that into New Salem. Speed relates that Lin- 
coln came into his store, set his saddle bags on the counter, 
and inquired what a single bedstead would cost. Being told 
that the amount complete was seventeen dollars, Lincoln 
said that it was cheap enough, but cheap as it was, he did 
not have the money to pay, but if he would be trusted 
until Christmas, and his experiment there as a lawyer was 
a success, he would pay then, if he failed he would probably 
never pay at all. The tone of his voice was so full of pathos 
that Speed felt for him, and he thought that he never saw 
so gloomy and melancholy a face in his life, and he then 
told Lincoln that he had a very large room and a very large 
double bed in it, which he was welcome to share with him. 
Without saying a word Lincoln took his saddle bags on 
* Tarbell, 1, 138-9. 



Practical Legislator 73 

his arm, went upstairs, set them down on the floor, came 
down again, and with a face beaming with pleasure and 
smiles, exclaimed, "Well, Speed, I'm moved." ^^ 

In the special session of 1837, the accusation that the 
removal of the capital was born of "bargain and corrup- 
tion," challenged the integrity of the Sangamon delegation. 
A prominent Democrat, General Ewing, thus taunted them: 
"The arrogance of Springfield, its presumption in claiming 
the seat of government is not to be endured ; the law has 
been passed by chicanery and trickery; the Springfield dele- 
gation has sold out to the internal improvement men, and 
has promised its support to every measure that would gain 
a vote to the law removing the seat of government. ^*^ That 
Lincoln hurried to the defence of the onslaught of an emi- 
nent opponent, is another indication that he was rapidly 
becoming chief of his fellows. He here displayed the same 
kind of talent that won him applause from audiences on 
the prairie.^^ General Linder states that then, for the first 
time, he began to conceive a very high opinion of the talents 
and personal courage of Abraham Lincoln. The interven- 
tion of friends alone averted a duel between Lincoln and 
Ewing.^" 

During this session, a resolution was introduced by Mr. 

Linder for a legislative inquiry into the affairs of the State 

Bank, generally known to be in a hazardous condition. The 

introducer ventured to support his resolution with a tone 

of superiority that invited chastisement. Again Lincoln 

bore the brunt of the defence, railing at Mr. Linder about his 

pretensions, saying that in one faculty at least, there could 

be no dispute of the gentleman's superiority over him and 

most other men, and that was, the faculty of so entangling 

^Herndon, 1, 176, '^Lcamon, 201. 

"^Tarbell, 1, 139. «^Tarbell, 1, 139. 



74 Lmcoln the Politician 

a subject that neither himself, nor any other man, could 
find head or tail to it.^^ 

In speaking of the resolution itself, Lincoln indulged in 
these typical expressions: It is an old maxim and a very 
sound one, that he who dances should always pay the fiddler. 
I am decidedly opposed to the people's money being used 
to pay the fiddler. These capitalists generally act harmoni- 
ously and in concert to fleece the people; and now that they 
have got into a quarrel with themselves, we are called upon 
to appropriate the people's money to settle the quarrel.^* 
The people know their rights and they are never slow to 
assert and maintain them when they are invaded. I make 
the assertion boldly, and without fear of contradiction, that 
no man who does not hold an office, or does not aspire to 
one, has ever found any fault with the bank. No, sir, it is 
the politician who is first to sound the alarm (which by 
the way, is a false one.) It is he who by these unholy 
means, is endeavoring to blow up a storm that he made ride 
upon and direct. Mr. Chairman, this work is exclusivel}^ 
the work of politicians — a set of men who have interests aside 
from the interests of the people, and Avho, to say the most 
of them, are, taken as a mass, at least one step removed 
from honest men. I say this with the greater freedom, be- 
cause, being a politician myself, none can regard it as per- 
sonal.^^ 

The speech was published in the Sangamon Journal with 
the editorial comment that Lincoln's remarks on Linder's 
bank resolution were quite to the point ; that he carried the 
true Kentucky rifle, and when he fired he seldom failed send- 
ing the shot home.^® 

Lincoln's bold words about the politician, modified by his 

»«Tarbell, 1, 140, 141. "'Ibid., 142, 

'*Ibid., 141. ^"Ibid. 



Practical Legislator 76 

quaint admission, allow us a glimpse of the inner man. It 
took no mean courage to make so unpalatable an assertion. 
Still tempering his speech with his rare kind of diplomacy, 
he did not suffer In the estimation of his associates, those 
whose esteem he valued. 



CHAPTER V 



PROTESTER AND PATRIOT 



^ I ^HE year 1837 is the culmination of the first period of 
abolitionism in Illinois. Until then, abolitionism was a 
hated eastern conception. Despite opposition, and somewhat 
feeding on it, it slowly filtered its way through an almost 
impervious public sentiment. A small band encountered 
with heroism, the continuous martyrdom that waits on the 
protagonist. Few in numbers, zealous in their gospel, su- 
perbly confident in the rectitude of their counsel they 
aroused the spirit of retaliation. Their excessive zeal tran- 
scended all other obligations, rendering them indifferent, 
if not hostile, to the constitutional compact. They stimu- 
lated and encouraged to life a corresponding bitterness 
among the multitude. 

It was in those days a mortal offence to call a man an 
abolitionist. The popular mind scarcely distinguished be- 
tween men who stole horses and men who freed negroes. 
They regarded anti-slavery men as robbers, disturbers of 
the peace, the instigators of arson, and enemies to the Union 
which gave us as a people liberty and strength. "In testi- 
mony of these sentiments, Illinois enacted a 'black code' of 
most preposterous and cruel severity, — a code that would 
have been a disgrace to a slave state, and was simply an 
infamy in a free one. It borrowed the provisions of the 
most revolting laws known among men, for exiling, selling, 
beating, bedeviling, and torturing negroes, whether bond or 

76 



Protester and Patriot 77 

free." ^ 

That the opposition of slavery was bothering the people 
of Sangamon County, is evident from the following resolu- 
tion adopted at Springfield in 1837 at a public meeting, over 
which Judge Brown presided : 

"Resolved that in the opinion of this meeting the doc- 
trine of the immediate emancipation of the slaves of this 
country (although promulgated by those who profess to be 
Christians) is at variance with Christianity, and its tendency 
is to breed contention, broil and mobs ; and the leaders of 
those calling themselves Abolitionists are designing ambitious 
men and dangerous members of society and should be 
shunned by all good citizens." - 

Illinois would scarcely brook unchained utterance on the 
darkest question of all the ages, — the "right of one man to 
eat the bread which another earned." A kind of stifling 
ostracism awaited the lowly or the towering disciple who 
spoke in the language of Jefferson, of the fear awakening 
problem. Every generation has its remorseless method of 
crucifying its heroes of speech and deed. Business and 
political interests, social influences and religious afiiliations 
concerted in the crushing of abolitionism. Success might 
have crowned their efi^ort had prudence been their com- 
panion, but they mobbed, maltreated, and even murdered the 
champions of the new movement. Had madness confounded 
them, they could not have acted more unwisely. This, more 
than all the agitation of abolition leaders, quickened the 
moral vitality of the people. There were many white men 
who cared little for the slave, but much for the gospel of 
free speech as old as the Anglo-Saxon race. This fatal 
policy of brute force finally dictated the doom of a power 
that long mocked all opposition, that dreamed of an im- 
*Lamon, 206. * History of Sangamon County, 251. 



78 LvncoTm, the Politician 

perial government grander than the vision which "Stout 
Cortez" beheld when he first stared at the Pacific, "silent 
on a peak in Darien." 

The motives that prompted public sentiment in Illinois to 
throttle discussion on the slave question, almost baffle under- 
standing. The Lovejoys attacked no vested interest in the 
State, menaced no substantial rights of person or property. 
While the Southern States busied themselves with the doc- 
trine that it was the privilege of each State to demean itself 
as it wished, subject only to the Constitution, as it inter- 
preted that instrument, there was small occasion for a North- 
ern commonwealth to curb its own citizens, to sacrifice 
ancient and cherished rights for the pleasure of an exacting 
foreign institution. 

The anti-slavery forces with keenness of vision saw the 
weak point of the enemy's attack, so they ranged themselves 
round the banner, proclaiming the doctrine of free speech 
and the sacredness of an unshackled press. Nothing more 
inherently reveals the weakness of the advocates of slavery, 
than their morbid fear of free and frank inquiry into its 
policy and wisdom. In the face of an institution demanding 
mob power, and the sacrifice of priceless principles, the 
Abolitionists performed a wholesome public service in con- 
tending that then more than ever liberty of discussion should 
be protected, maintained and hallowed. 

Suddenly, in the same j^ear up starts Lincoln the states- 
man, Lincoln the politician sinks. He possessed the rare 
gift of concealing his most cherished opinions until the time 
was ripe for expression. He was aware of the folly of mouth- 
ing truths when no good could come therefrom. In this, 
he was a politician. Still when the occasion called for an 
act of fortitude, when the solemnity of the hour summoned 
heroic utterance, as from "heights afar," the sound of his 



Protester and Patriot 79 

voice was heard and the thrill of his words awakened. In 
this, he was a supreme statesman. 

- Strange medley of the ideal and the practical, — at times 
he appeared the very woof of the visionary, and then stood 
forth as a petty politician. He was a m^'stery and a won- 
der to his contemporaries. They never beheld such a man; 
they had no standard by which to measure him. First, amaz- 
ing some by the minuteness of his strategy, he would then 
startle others by a bold proclamation of immortal truth. 
There was something elusive in the manifoldness of his na- 
ture. The world with childlike simplicity looks for uniform- 
ity of action, for consistency. So it was that in later years 
time-servers called Lincoln the apostle of radicalism, and 
radicals named him the slave of conservatism. 

The legislature instead of branding the black crime of 
the murder of Lovejoy in 1837, hastened to pass resolutions 
of sympathy with slavery. No external inducement guided 
Lincoln to fly in the face of the sentiment of the Legislature, 
the State and Nation in regard to Abolitionism. His conduct 
mystifies unless the abiding impress of the incident at New 
Orleans is fully measured. It was no idle vaunt that stirred 
him to the declaration that if he ever had the chance he 
would strike a blow for the enslaved. The testing time was 
at hand. His oath was "registered in Heaven." It was 
necessary to join the majority in their defence of slavery, or 
strike a lonely path in behalf of the enslaved. His soul faced 
that crisis. No longer helpless, he was widely known, and 
was distinguished for his services as a political leader. High 
in position, his act and word carrying weight, he proclaimed 
his protest. The chance being at hand, he struck slavery a 
stinging blow. The silence of nearly a decade was broken 
in words that shall echo for evermore. Only one other rep- 
resentative, Dan Stone, of Sangamon County, dared to sign 



80 Li/ncol/n the Politician 

the following signal dissent that will save him from an obliv- 
ion that has already enshrouded those who voted for the suc- 
cessful resolutions: 

"They believe that the institution of slavery is founded 
on both injustice and bad policy, but that the promulgation 
of abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than abate the 
evils. 

"They believe that the Congress of the United States has 
no power under the Constitution to interfere with the insti- 
tution of slavery in the different States. 

"They believe that the Congress of the United States has 
the power, under the Constitution, to abolish slavery in the 
District of Columbia, but that the power ought not to be 
exercised, unless at the request of the people of the District. 

"The difference between these opinions and those contained 
in the said resolutions is their reason for entering this pro- 
test. 

"Dan Stone, 
"A. Lincoln. 
"Representatives of the County of Sangamon." ^ 

The resolutions that passed the General Assembly were 
still rather conservative for the time and place. The protest 
of Lincoln is therefore the more significant, as indicating 
its origin from some deep mental or moral sentiment. 
Every letter in the protest is weighed. No product of 
Lincoln is more native to his genius. It is as re- 
strained as a judicial decision. Avoiding unneeded antag- 
onism, it is framed with admirable diplomacy. Radical in 
thought, still so moderate in expression, it saved his power 
for further good, not placing him beyond fellowship with 
* Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 15. 



Protester and Patriot 81 

liis associates. Yet with all its subdued character, with 
infinite wisdom it made the assault at the weakest point, 
declaring that slavery was founded, not only on injustice, but 
had policy. In the last phrase lurked the sting that was 
to awaken the self-interest of the North, the same kind of 
selfishness that solidified the South in defending the institu- 
tion. Lincoln was among the first to grasp and lay stress 
on the warp of the issue. He once declared that honest 
statesmanship was the employment of individual meanness 
for the public good. When self-interest became enlisted with 
conscience against the evil, its days were numbered. While 
Abolitionism was noisily tugging at one of the pillars that 
supported human bondage, Lincoln serenely forged an argu- 
ment linking its moral and industrial weakness, an argu- 
ment that finally shook its very foundation, until the pecu- 
liar institution that dominated the destiny of the nation for 
more than half a century tumbled to destruction. While 
other men were forced to change their opinions through the 
malignancy of slavery to keep abreast of public sentiment, 
Lincoln remained steadfast in his opinions and his policy. 
At the outset, he foresaw that no institution could last long 
that rested on injustice and bad policy. Only a change of 
external conditions separated the man who entered a solemn 
protest against the iniquity of slavery in a hostile com- 
munity and the leader who gave life to the momentous act 
of the nineteenth century. 

The period preceding the murder of Lovejoy was an era 
of unrest. The mob spirit ranged over the land. Thus in 
commenting upon the murder of the mulatto Mcintosh, Love- 
joy says: "In Charlestown it burns a Convent over the head 
of defenseless women; in Baltimore it desecrates the Sab- 
bath, and works all that day in demolishing a private citi- 
zen's house ; in Vicksburg it hangs up gamblers, three or four 



82 Lincoln the Politician 

in a row; and in St. Louis it forces a man — a hardened 
wretch certainly, and one that deserves to die, but not thus 
to die — it forces him from beneath the aegis of our constitu- 
tion and laws, hurries him to the stake and burns him alive !"* 

Without doubt, the murder of Lovejoy and similar inci- 
dents drew the mind of Lincoln to the discussion of the sub- 
ject of the preservation of our institutions. For Herndon 
has left valuable testimony as to the influence of like events 
on his own opinions. The cruel and uncalled-for murder 
aroused anti-slavery sentiments, penetrating the college at 
Jacksonville where he was attending, and both faculty and 
students were unrestrained in their denunciation. Herndon's 
father, believing that the college was too strongly permeated 
with the virus of Abolitionism, forced him to withdraw from 
the institution. But Herndon declares that it was too late ; 
that the murder of Lovejoy filled him with more desperation 
than the slave scene in New Orleans did Lincoln. For while 
the latter believed in non-interference with slavery, as long 
as the Constitution authorized its existence, Herndon, al- 
though acting nominally with the Whig party up to 1853, 
struck out for Abolitionism pure and simple.* 

In the fall of 1837, Lincoln addressed the Young Men's 
Lyceum at Springfield, Illinois, in a formal discourse bearing 
traces of considerable preparation. The style is fulsome and 
fanciful, and unlike his own crisp utterance of previous or 
subsequent periods. For a time he wandered from his natu- 
ral self and followed the glitter of what he doubtless deemed 
a more cultivated form of expression. Thus it begins : "In 
the great journal of things happening under the sun, we, the 
American people, find our account running under date of the 
nineteenth century of the Christian era. We find ourselves 
*Lovejoy, 172. "Herndon, 1, 178-9. 



I 



Protester and Patriot 83 

in the peaceful possession of the fairest portion of the earth 
as regards extent of territory, fertility of soil and salubrity 
of climate. We find ourselves under the government of a 
system of pohtical institutions conducing more essentially 
to the ends of civil and religious liberty than any of which 
the history of former times tells us." ^ 

It is especially important to take note of Lincoln's atti- 
tude of the prevailing mob spirit. His treatment of that 
theme, his mode and manner and thought, is so like that of 
the editor of the Alton Observer, that it is reasonable to 
assume that there was a common origin to the common senti- 
ment. The same scenes and events that stirred the soul of 
Lovejoy aroused that of Lincoln. His direct onslaught on 
the mob spirit being largely connected with the slave issue, 
was an indirect attack on slavery. In this, Lincoln and the 
Abolitionists stood on the same ground. He extravagantly 
denounced the malefaction of the mobs, saying that they 
pervaded the country from New England to Louisiana ; and 
alike sprang up among the pleasure-hunting masters of 
Southern slaves, and the order-loving citizens of the land of 
steady habits, that this process of hanging went on from 
gamblers to negroes, from negroes to white citizens, and from 
these to strangers, till dead men were seen literally dangling 
from the boughs of trees upon every roadside. He further 
insisted that by the operation of this mobocratic spirit, the 
strongest bulwark of any government might effectually be 
broken down and destroyed — the attachment of the people. 
He contended that whenever the vicious portion of popula- 
tion should be permitted to burn churches, ravage provision 
stores, throw printing presses into rivers, shoot editors, and 
hang and burn obnoxious persons with impunity, this gov- 
ernment could not last.® 

' Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 9. " Ibid., 10-11. 



84 Lincoln the Politicimi 

Under the display of such extravagant expression there is 
still patriotic apprehensiveness of danger to the national 
existence. He fought out the solution of the problem un- 
aided until the way seemed clear and plain. To him the 
remedy was simple — obedience to the law of the land. 

"Let reverence for the law be breathed by every Ameri- 
can mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap ; let 
it be taught in schools, in seminaries and in colleges ; let it 
be written in primers, spelling books, and in almanacs ; let it 
be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, 
and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it 
become the political religion of the nation, and let the old 
and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the 
gay of all sexes and tongues and colors and conditions, sacri- 
fice unceasingly upon its altars. . . . 

"When I so pressingly urge a strict observance of all the 
laws, let me not be understood as saying there are no bad 
laws, or that grievances may not arise for the redress of 
which no legal provisions have been made. I mean to say 
no such thing. But I do mean to say that although bad 
laws if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, 
still, while they continue in force, for the sake of example 
they should be religiously observed. So also in unprovided 
cases. If such arises, let proper legal provision be made for 
them with the least possible delay, but till then, if not too 
intolerable, be borne with." ^ 

His remedy bespeaking reverence for the laws, would de- 
stroy the rampant spirit in the slavery movement and in 
abolitionism, so that neither would violate the law of the 
land, and so that the controversy might be conducted with- 
out intruding on the sanctity of the fundamental principles 
of the Constitution. 
^Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 12. 



Protester and Patriot 86 

From this time, Lincoln ceased to be a mere local politi- 
cian. He became intensely concerned over national questions. 
Naturally, a man of broad views, he soon threw off the coil 
of locality, and with zeal invaded the arena of national 
issues. His mind ranged over the general domain for ma- 
terials. Local issues were only stepping stones to him. 
Leaving the valley of minor matters, with exuberant spirits, 
he rejoicingly entered the new land of larger import, and 
of broader moment to the weal of the nation. For the first 
time he encountered extensive questions concerning the very 
foundations of the Republic. 

"Towering genius," he said, "disdains a beaten path. It 
seeks regions hitherto unexplored. It sees no distinction in 
adding story to story upon the monuments of fame erected 
to the memory of others. It denies that it is glory enough 
to serve under any chief. It scorns to tread in the footsteps 
of any predecessor, however illustrious. It thirsts and burns 
for distinction; and if possible, it will have it, whether at 
the expense of emancipating slaves or enslaving freemen." ® 

We here strike a golden vein in his character. Ranging 
over the world's activities for an illustration to rival the 
ambition of towering genius, he finds it in the enslavement or 
emancipation of a race. Out of the loneliness of his indi- 
viduality, out of the solemnity of his deliberations, he grew 
into a great character. It is his own illustration dug out of 
his mental experience, a product of a mind brooding over 
a national destiny. He saw with unerring vision, for men 
did come in his own generation who did not scruple to climb 
to power upon the back of an enslaved people. The true 
Lincoln consists not only of the humble man, of homely face, 
gaunt form, shambling limbs, quaint utterance, rude story 
and humble way. We may also see him in his early manhood 

•Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 13. 



86 Lhwoln the Politician 

with Titan power, fighting and triumphing over the brute 
forces of his being, over his ambition, and towering to the 
greatness of righteous triumph. Conduct is only the shadow 
of soul struggle. Nearly three decades before the Emanci- 
pation, its destiny was determined in no small measure by the 
events that led to the murder of Love joy. 



CHAPTER VI 

PARTISAN IN STATE AND NATIONAL AFFAIRS 

npHE campaign of 1838 did not differ materially from 
-■■ that of previous years. A colleague of Lincoln says 
that they called at nearly every home ; that it was customary 
to keep some whiskey in the house, for private use and to 
treat guests; that the subject was always mentioned as a 
matter of etiquette, but with the remark to Lincoln that 
though he never drank, his friend might like to take a little. 
Lincoln often told his associates that he never drank and had 
no desire for drink, nor the companionship of drinking men. 
Some light is thrown on the nature of the conduct of office 
seekers by the following incident: During this campaign, 
Douglas and Stuart, candidates for Congress, "fought like 
tigers in Hcrndon's grocery, over a floor that was drenched 
with slops, and gave up the struggle only when both were 
exhausted. Then, as a further entertainment to the popu- 
lace, Mr. Stuart ordered a 'barrel of whiskey and wine.' " ^"^ 
Joshua Speed states that some of the Whigs contributed 
a purse of two hundred dollars to enable Lincoln to pay his 
personal expense in the canvass. After the election, the can- 
didate handed Speed $199.25, with the request that he return 
it to the subscribers. "I did not need the money," said he, 
"I made the canvass on my own horse ; my entertainment be- 
ing at the houses of friends, cost me nothing; and my only 
outlay was seventy-five cents for a barrel of cider, which 
* ^Lamon, 230. 

87 



88 Lincoln the Politician 

some farm hands insisted I should treat them to." ^ 

On one occasion, Col. Taylor, a demagogue of the Demo- 
cratic party, was hypocritically appealing to his "horny 
handed neighbors" in language of feigned adulation. Lin- 
coln knew his man. He deftly removed the vest of the orator 
and revealed to his astonished hearers "a ruffled shirt front 
glittering with watch chain, seals and other golden jewels." 
The speaker stood confused. The audience roared with 
laughter. When it came Lincoln's turn to answer, he re- 
torted. "While Colonel Taylor was making these charges 
against the Whigs over the country, riding in fine carriages, 
wearing ruffled shirts, kid gloves, massive gold watch chains 
with large gold seals, and flourishing a heavy gold-headed 
cane, I was a poor boy, hired on a flat-boat at eight dollars 
a month, and had only one pair of breeches to my back, and 
they were buckskin. Now if 3'ou know the nature of buck- 
skin when wet and dried by the sun, it will shrink; and my 
breeches kept shrinking until they left several inches of my 
legs bare between the tops of my socks and the lower part of 
my breeches ; and whilst I was growing taller they were 
growing shorter, and so much tighter that they left a blue 
streak around my legs that can be seen to this day. If you 
call this aristocracy I plead guilty to the charge." * 

When the Legislature convened in 1838, Lincoln was a 
candidate of his party for speaker. His opponent was cho- 
sen by a plurality of one vote. Lamon declares that this 
distinction was a barren honor, and known to be such at the 
time, but cites no reason for his statement.^ At least the 
humble representative of Sangamon County continued to rise 
in the esteem of his associates. His activity was crowned 
with the approval of those with whom he fought side by 
side in the turmoil and debate of controversy. It is a sig- 

« Nicolay & Hay, 1, 158. * Herndon, 1, 186. " Lamon, 212. 



Partisan in State and National Affairs 89 

nificant indication of his diplomacy. He had so won the con- 
fidence of his companions that even differences on that slav- 
ery issue did not cause him the loss of their esteem and favor. 
The recipient of such an honor is likely to be the possessor of 
amiable personal qualities that call forth devotion, even more 
than the sturdy qualities of talent and ability.^ In matters 
of political expediency, Lincoln did not run athwart the 
sentiments of the majority. Despite the mutterings of dis- 
content in some quarters, despite a growing feeling that the 
internal improvement policy was likely to involve the State 
in disaster, the finance committee, of which Lincoln was a 
prominent member, advised even further indulgence in the 
fatal policy. Finally, the fearful financial condition of the 
State stared the people and their representatives in the face. 
The supporters of the internal improvement system stub- 
bornly began to yield to the policy of retrenchment. Still, 
in the Special Session of 1839, assembled to deliberate over 
the momentous state of affairs, Lincoln with peculiar logic 
urged they were so far advanced in a general system of in- 
ternal improvements that they could not retreat from it 
without disgrace and great loss, and that the conclusion was 
that they must advance.'^ 

Lincoln was one of thirty-three members to vote for laying 
the bill repealing improvements on the table, while sixty op- 
posed this action ; and he was one of thirty-five who voted 
against the repeal of the internal improvement policy, while 
thirty-seven voted for it.^ Thus, to the very end, Lincoln 
persisted in the disastrous policy that clouded the history 
and prosperity of Illinois for many years. 

•Lamon, 212. 

■^ From Lincoln's Report for Finance Committee on Expediency of Pur- 
chasing all Unsold Lands of United States in Illinois, Jan. 23, 1839, 223. 
' House Journal of 1839, 265. 



90 Lincoln the Politician 

Lincoln basked in political events. He was alive to the 
details in political strategy. In November, 1839, he wrote 
to Stuart, his partner, in regard to a voter : "Evan Butler is 
jealous that you never send your compliments to him. You 
must not neglect him next time." ^ 

From the very beginning, he concerned himself with the 
candidacy of General Harrison. Recognizing its elemental 
political strength, he watched its growth with increasing in- 
terest. Harrison had never distinguished himself as a public 
citizen. Lincoln looked at the political side of the picture 
alone, little dreaming that the day was to come when his 
election was to depend, in some measure, on the same emo- 
tions that promoted the triumph of Harrison. In both cam- 
paigns the log cabin played a dominant part. 

Speed's store in Springfield was the retreat of Lincoln, 
Douglas and Baker, and other political leaders of the domi- 
nant parties. However, partisanship was about to triumph, 
and common meeting places were soon to become unknown. 
In December, 1839, just as the campaign of 1840 was loom- 
ing up, a political discussion between the leaders grew violent 
in the grocery over the national issue. During the angry 
debate, Douglas, with his imperial manner, flung forth the 
taunt: "Gentlemen, this is no place to talk politics; we will 
discuss the question publicly with you." ^^ 

Lincoln, who had schooled himself in logical dissertation, 
loved a political contest. He had met the champions of the 
Legislature without dismay, and was more feared than fear- 
ing. Shortly afterward Lincoln presented a resolution to 
accept the flaunting challenge of Douglas. Logan, Baker, 
Browning and Lincoln were the chosen disputants of the 
Whig cause. The Democrats put forth Douglas, Calhoun, 
Lamboum and Thomas as their champions. Each speaker 
•Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 41. '"Lamon, 232. 



Partisan in State and National Affairs 91 

was allowed an evening for his address. This controversy 
was long known as "the great debate." ^^ 

That Lincoln was climbing to eminence slowly, that he 
was marvelously free from egoism and the aggressiveness of 
the common political orator is manifest from the first para- 
graph of his address : "It is peculiarly embarrassing to me 
to attempt a continuance of the discussion, on this evening, 
which has been conducted in this hall on several preceding 
ones. It is so because on each of these evenings there was 
a much fuller attendance than now, without any reason for 
its being so, except the greater interest the community feel 
in the speakers who addressed them than they do in him who 
is to do so now. I am, indeed, apprehensive that the few 
who have attended have done so more to spare my mortifica- 
tion than in the hope of being interested in anything I may 
be able to say. This circumstance casts a damp upon my 
spirits, which I am sure I shall be unable to overcome during 
the evening." ^^ 

His manner of holding an opponent to the point at issue, 
his directness of speech are strikingly displayed: "I now ask 
the audience, when Mr. Calhoun shall answer me, to hold 
him to the questions. Permit him not to escape them. Re- 
quire him either to show that the subtreasury would not in- 
juriously affect the currency, or that we should in some way 
receive an equivalent for that injurious effect. Require him 
either to show that the subtreasury would not be more ex- 
pensive as a fiscal agent than a bank, or that we would 
in some way be compensated for the additional expense." ^^ 

Although of limited experience in public controversy, the 
least known of the Whig debaters, diffident of his own ca- 
pacity, yet he sought the most brilliant and distinguished 

"Lamon, 232. ^^ Ibid., 29-30. 

"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 21. 



92 Lmcoln the Politician 

debater in the Democratic party — Douglas. Free from 
sham, he was merciless in exposing it in others, as the fol- 
lowing attack on his elusive antagonist indicates : "Those 
who heard Mr. Douglas recollect that he indulged himself 
in a contemptuous expression of pity for me. 'Now, he's got 
me,' thought I. But when he went on to say that five mil- 
lions of the expenditure of 1838 were payments of the French 
indemnities, which I knew to be untrue; that five millions 
had been for the Postoffice, which I knew to be untrue; that 
ten millions had been for the Maine boundary war, which 
I not only knew to be untrue, but supremely ridiculous also; 
and when I saw that he was stupid enough to hope that I 
would permit such groundless and audacious assertions to 
be unexposed, — I readily consented that, on the score both 
of veracity and sagacity, the audience would judge whether 
he or I were the more deserving of the world's contempt." ^* 

Sober in the main as the speeches of Webster, on the cur- 
rency issue Lincoln only once let loose his rollicking and suf- 
fusing sense of humor: "The Democrats are vulnerable in 
the heel — I admit is not merely figuratively, but literally 
true. Who that looks but for a moment at their Swart- 
wouts, their Prices, their Plarringtons, and their hundreds 
of others, scampering away with the public money to Texas, 
to Europe, and to every spot of the earth where a villain 
may hope to find refuge from justice, can at all doubt that 
they are most distressingly affected in their heels with a 
species of 'running itch.' It seems that this malady of their 
heels operates on these sound-headed and honest-hearted 
creatures very much like the cork leg in the comic song did 
on its owner: which, when he had once got started on it, 
the more he tried to stop it, the more it would run away." ^^ 

That he was still subject to the fashion of pioneer exuber- 
" Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 35. " Ibid., 35-36. 



Partisan m State and National Affairs 93 

ant expression ; that he was somewhat entangled in the grow- 
ing partisanship of the time, is thoroughly evident from his 
stormy peroration: "Many free countries have lost their 
liberty, and ours may lose hers; but if she shall, let it be 
my proudest plume, not that I was the last to desert, but 
that I never deserted her. I know that the great volcano at 
Washington, aroused and directed by the evil spirit that 
reigns there, is belching forth the lava of political corrup- 
tion in a current broad and deep, which is sweeping with 
frightful velocity over the whole length and breadth of the 
land, bidding fair to leave unscathed no green spot or 
hving thing; while on its bosom are riding, like demons on 
the waves of hell, the imps of that evil spirit, and fiendishly 
taunting all those who dare resist its destroying course 
with the helplessness of their effort; and, knowing this, I 
cannot deny that all may be swept away. Broken by it I, 
too, may be; bow to it I never will. The probabihty that 
we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the 
support of a cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter 



me. 



JJ 16 



This fulsome conclusion more than his sustained logical 
argument swept over his audience and made it a pop- 
ular success, so that admiring friends promoted its pub- 
lication in the Sangamon Journal Lamon, however, 
curtly makes this dampening comment on his eloquent dic- 
tion: "Considering that the times were extremely peaceful, 
and that the speaker saw no bloodshed except what flowed 
from the noses of beUigerents in the groceries about Spring- 
field, the speech seems to have been unnecessarily defiant." ^^ 
The Committee of Whigs in charge of Harrison's political 
campaign in Illinois issued a circular urging the organiza- 
tion of the whole State for the Presidential contest. Lin- 
" Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 36 "Lamon, 236. 



94 Lvncoln the Politician 

coin was a prominent member of this body and his style 
shows through this appeal. It was a combination of skillful 
play to party spirit, and a thorough knowledge of the mode 
of conducting a successful campaign. "To overthrow the 
trained bands that are opposed to us, whose salaried officers 
are ever on the watch, and whose misguided followers are 
ever ready to obey their smallest commands, every Whig 
must not only know his duty, but must firmly resolve, what- 
ever of time and labor it may cost, boldly and faithfully to 
do it. Our intention is to organize the whole State, so that 
every Whig can be brought to the polls in the coming presi- 
dential contest. We cannot do this, however, without your 
cooperation ; and as we do our duty, so we shall expect you 
to do yours." ^® 

The circular then proposed a new method of bringing out 
the full Whig vote, in essence the same that is now employed 
by every successful political organization. The following 
was the plan of organization : — 

(1) To divide every county into small districts, and to 
appoint in each a subcommittee, with the duty to make a 
perfect list of all the voters, and to ascertain their choice 
with certainty, all doubtful voters to be designated in sepa- 
rate lines. 

(2) To keep a constant watch on the doubtful voters, and 
from time to time have them talked to by those they trusted, 
and to place in their hands convincing documents. 

(3) To report, at least once a month, and on election 
days see that every Whig was brought to the polls. -^^ 

Lincoln was brought up in a practical school where votes 
are a matter of calculation, where the things done on the 
stage were plotted and planned behind the stage. Few men 
Avere more thoroughly trained in the methods of secur- 

" Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 38. ^Uhid, 



Partisan in State and National Affairs 96 

ing results. He eagerly wrote to Stuart for copies of the 
"Life of Harrison," and also requested "The Senate Journal 
of New York" of September, 1814. "I have a newspaper 
article which says that that document proves that Van 
Buren voted against raising troops in the last war. And 
in general send me everything you think will be a good 'war- 
club.' " 20 He was learning that pohtical battles are won 
and lost, not alone on discussion of principles, but on appeals 
to the emotions of men. 

As a politician, his judgment prevailed over Iiis sentiment. 
He was not carried away by the enthusiasm of the hour, but 
looked beneath the surface for events that suggested pubhc 
sentiment. So he noted with discernment "A great many of 
the grocery sort of Van Buren men, as formerly, are out 
for Harrison. Our Irish blacksmith, Gregory, is for Har- 
rison. I beheve I may say that aU our friends think the 
chances of carrying the State very good." ^i 

For the first time in years, the Whigs conducted a cam- 
paign more aggressive than that of their opponents. Gen- 
eral Harrison represented no definite pohtical policy. The 
log cabin, the coon skin cap, the pohtical songs, the enthusi- 
asm of even the children, all this was more potent than the 
solid and sober discussion of such issues as the currency, 
executive power, American labor, protection and internal 
improvements. 

The sober thinking and dignified leaders of the Whig party 
were somewhat shocked by the uncouth campaign of 1840. 
It was not in keeping witli the dignity of its traditions. 
Leaders like Webster brooked with impatience a campaign 
in which judgment was fairly forgotten. 

The whole campaign was one of luxuriant freedom, of in- 
tense excitement, of exaggerated discourse. A resolution 
=" Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 39. ''Ibid., 40. 



96 Lincoln the Politician 

adopted at Springfield during March, indicates the language 
that was abroad : "Resolved, that the election of Harrison 
and Tyler would emancipate the land from the Catilines who 
infest it ; would restore it to prosperity and peace, and bring 
back the time when good measures, good principles and good 
men would control the administration of our government." ^^ 

Lincoln was foremost in the emotional fight of 1840. With 
all the zeal of eager youth, he rushed into the contest. As a 
presidential elector, he traversed a large portion of the State. 
Thus a newspaper of the day says : He is going it with a 
perfect rush. "Thus far the Locofocos have not been able to 
start a man that can hold a candle to him in political de- 
bate. All of their crack nags that have entered the list 
against him have come off the field crippled or broke down. 
He is now wending his way north." ^^ 

An incident little known, but of vast importance in illum- 
ining the kind of orator Lincoln was in 1840, is found in an 
almost forgotten book. Therein we find the impression that 
gaunt Lincoln made upon a cultured resident and distin- 
guished lawyer of St. Louis, who says that at a gathering of 
Whigs in April, 1840, at Belleville, Mr. Lincoln was the first 
speaker to an immense crowd. "He rang all the changes upon 
'coon skins,' 'hard cider,' 'log cabins,' etc., and among other 
things he launched forth in true Lincoln style and manner 
and said he had been 'raised over thar on Irish potatoes and 
buttermilk and mauling rails.' ... I went to Col. Edward 
Baker, I think it was, and told him for goodness sake to 
try and get Lincoln down from the stand; that he was 
doing us more harm than good . . . when Lincoln goes to 
weaving his buttermilk, etc., it would seem as if we were 
verging rather too near onto the ridiculous. We succeeded 

^ History of Sangamon County, 253. 

"• lYansactions of the Illinois State Historical Society, 8, 224. 



Partisan in State and National Affairs 97 

very soon in getting Lincoln down from the stand and got 
up another speaker who seemed to have more judgment in 
managing the canvass." ^^ 

This statement should not be neglected. It is the judg- 
ment of a civilization different from that of pioneer Illinois. 
Events had hardly sobered the style and the manner of the 
sensitive politician of Sangamon County. Later on he grew 
to a more reserved and severe exposition of political discus- 
sion, grew to appeal to the judgment rather than the senti- 
ments of men, grew to lift the debate of the hour above the 
clash of partisan controversy. 

During this campaign, he once failed to come up to the 
requirements of the occasion in a debate with Douglas. A 
friend describes his distress at his failure: "He begged to 
be permitted to try it again, and was reluctantly indulged; 
and in the next effort he transcended our highest expecta- 
tions. I never heard and never expect to hear such a trium- 
phant vindication as he then gave of Whig measures or 
policy. He never after, to my knowledge, fell below him- 
self." 25 

The debates of this campaign were a product of the ex- 
cited and heated condition of the public mind. Thus, Gen. 
John Ewing, of Indiana, challenged the whole Democratic 
party and threatened to annihilate it. Douglas was pitted 
against him. There was no formahty at the meetings. Each 
was to speak an hour alternately. The debate was to begin 
at eight and adjourn at twelve; meet at two and continue 
to sundown each day until the contest would be ended. At 
the end of the fifth day, Ewing "threw up the sponge," and 
a vigorous shout was given by the Democrats. "E. D. Baker, 
notified of Ewing's defeat, mounted a butcher block and be- 
gan to address us. They protested that the game of 'two 
^ Darbey, 447. » Herndon, 1, 190. 



98 Lincoln the Politician 

pluck one' could not be tolerated. He persisted and at once 
the cry was raised 'pull him down.' At length he yielded, 
otherwise it would have ended with a number of broken 
heads." 26 

Another incident still further discloses the character of 
the controversy that prevailed at that period. Arnold says 
that Baker was speaking in a room under Lincoln's office, and 
communicating with it by a trap door. Lincoln in his office, 
listened. Baker, becoming excited, abused the Democrats. 
A cry was raised, "Pull him off the stand !" Lincoln, know- 
ing a general fight was imminent, descended through the 
opening of the trap door, and springing to the side of Baker, 
said: "Gentlemen, let us not disgrace the age and country 
in which we live. This is a land where freedom of speech is 
guaranteed. Baker has a right to speak, and a right to be 
permitted to do so. I am here to protect him, and no man 
shall take him from this stand if I can prevent it." Baker 
finished without further interruption."^ 

Lincoln and Douglas often met in debate in this campaign. 
Lamon states that Lincoln in the course of one speech im- 
puted to Van Buren the great sin of having voted in the 
New York State Convention for negro suffrage with a prop- 
erty qualification. Douglas denied the fact, and Lincoln 
attempted to prove his statement by reading a certain pas- 
sage from Holland's Life of Van Buren, whereupon Douglas 
got mad, snatched up the book, and, tossing it into the 
crowd, remarked sententiously, "Damn such a book !" "^ 

The above encounter shows Lincoln's method of attack. 

He followed his brilliant antagonist with facts that all his 

ingenuity could not evade. From that day, Lincoln loved 

nothing better than a fray with the feared champion of De- 

^' History of Sangamon County, 205. 

=" Arnold, 67-68. «» Lamon, 236. 



J 



Partisan in State and National Affairs 99 

mocracy. No other Whig orator could fret Douglas as Lin- 
coln did. They were as different in mental and moral out- 
look as they were in appearance. Lincoln saw through his 
skillful opponent. He knew his strength and he knew his 
weakness. He was prepared for his chameleon-like attacks 
and onslaughts. While contemporaries hardly saw in Lin- 
coln the future rival of the growing Douglas, still Lincoln 
was gaining strength in the technic of debate that was later 
to be of inestimable service to him in controversies of na- 
tional import. 

In the 1840-1 Legislature, Lincoln was again the candidate 
of his party for speaker. As leader of the minority, he 
doubtless deemed it an obligation on his part to provide some 
plan to pay the State debt and save its honor. He no longer 
cherished the illusion of gaining fame as the DeWitt Clinton 
of Illinois. There were some in the Legislature who boldly 
favored repudiation of the whole State debt. Others advo- 
cated payment of such part of it as the State actually re- 
ceived an equivalent for. Only a few dared to demand ade- 
quate taxation for the payment of the interest on the bonds. 
That was an unpopular expedient. 

Lincoln walked the middle way. He was not a friend of re- 
pudiation and still he did not court a loss of public esteem 
by proposing substantial direct taxation. His bill provided 
that the Governor should issue interest bonds as might be 
absolutely necessary for the payment of the interest upon 
the lawful debt of the State. He declared that he submitted 
the proposition with great diffidence; that he felt his share 
of the responsibility in the crisis ; and, that after revolving 
in his mind every scheme which seemed to afford the least 
prospect of relief, he submitted this as the result of his own 
deliberations; that it might be objected that the bonds 
would not be salable; that he was no financier, but that he 



100 Lincoln the Politician 

believed the bonds would be equal to the best in the market, 
and that as to the impropriety of borrowing money to pay 
interest on borrowed money, — he would reply, that if it 
were a fact that our population and wealth were increasing 
in a ratio greater than the increased interest hereby incurred, 
then it was not a good objection. ^^ 

He concluded with characteristic modesty that, "he had 
no pride in its success as a measure of his own, but submit- 
ted it to the wisdom of the House, with the hope, that, if 
there was anything objectionable in it, it would be pointed 
out and amended." ^^ 

Lamon calls it a loose document, as the Governor was to 
determine the "amount of bonds necessary," and the sums 
for which they should be issued, and interest was to be paid 
only upon the "lawful" debt; and the Governor was to de- 
termine what part of it was lawful and what was unlawful.^^ 
Still in essence, Lincoln's plan of leaving the determination of 
the lawfulness of the debt to an authority not the legislative, 
was finally adopted.^^ 

The shameless interference with the judicial system of Illi- 
nois about 1840 luridly illustrates the enslaving partisanship 
of that time. Under the provision of the State Constitution 
permitting every white male adult to vote, aliens had known 
the right of suffrage for years. Nine-tenths of the aliens 
allied themselves with the Democratic organization so that 
their support was essential to its success. As the Presidential 
contest grew in intensity there sprang up a controversy 
about these unnaturalized voters. Each party arrayed it- 
self on the side of its own interest. The Whigs maintained 
that the Federal Constitution had provided against the par- 
ticipation of aliens in the affairs of government. A test 

^^ Lamon, 214. " Ibid., 213-214. 

^^ Ibid., 215. ^' Ibid., 215. 



i 



Partisan in State and National Affairs 101 

case was brought to the Illinois Supreme Court which con- 
sisted of three Whigs and one Democrat. The latter in- 
formed Douglas, in advance, that the majority had agreed 
upon a decision unfavorable to the alien vote, but that there 
was a technical error in the record. This knowledge be- 
came serviceable to the Democrats. The case, by reason of 
the imperfection, was put over to the December term, and 
10,000 alien votes saved the State for another Democratic 
administration. 

The attitude of the Whig judges was made a pretext to re- 
organize the judiciary by increasing their number, thus en- 
abling the political complexion of that tribunal to represent 
the party in power. Early in the winter, however, the Su- 
preme Court rendered a decision that affirmed the contention 
of Douglas and his party. Still, the advocates for reor- 
ganization were not stayed in their purpose, and they moved 
forward in what they termed a reformation of the judiciary. 

This action of making the judiciary dependent on the 
Legislature was extremely pernicious in immediate results. 
It also started political impulses malignant and enduring, 
little appreciated by those who wantonly inaugurated the 
change. The participation of Douglas in this enterprise was 
effectively utilized by Lincoln in the debate of 1858. It is 
not surprising that Lincoln and other Whigs in the Legisla- 
ture were unwilling witnesses of this degradation. They 
framed protests, declaring that the immutable principles of 
justice were to make way for party interests, and the bonds 
of social order were to be rent in twain, in order that a des- 
perate faction might be sustained at the expense of the peo- 
ple; that the independence of the judiciary had been de- 
stroyed; that hereafter the courts would be independent of 
the people, and entirely dependent upon the Legislature ; that 
rights of property and liberty of conscience could no longer 



102 Lincoln the Politician 

be regarded as safe from the encroachments of unconstitu- 
tional legislation.^^ 

This strong statement from the Whigs represented the con- 
science of the State. The protesting element is generally 
alert in awakening public sentiment or responding to it on 
the issues of the day, thus affording a wholesome check upon 
the dominant organization in making inroads upon righteous 
government. In this way, it becomes the selfish interest of at 
least one political party to be on the side of honest states- 
manship. 

At no time was Lincoln more active in legislative affairs 
than during the early part of the 1840-41 session. In the 
internal improvement system, bank discussions, the attack 
upon the Sangamon delegation and in almost every legisla- 
tive proceeding he was ready to bear his share of the fight. 

But during the session, an event occurred that shadowed 
his political career. Lincoln, the democrat, the man of hu- 
mility, of common ancestry, was attracted to Mary Todd, 
a Southern aristocrat, a woman of beauty and ambition. 
Lamon finds the source of this in selfishness, saying: "Born 
in the humblest circumstances, uneducated, poor, acquainted 
with flatboats and groceries, but a stranger to the drawing- 
room, it was natural that he should seek in a matrimonial 
alliance those social advantages which he felt were necessary 
to his political advancement." ^^ 

This biographer overlooks the fact that it is not an un- 
common event for a homely, humble man to be diverted from 
the common highway as Lincoln was. It is very hard to 
read in this story anything of designing selfishness. At one 
time severing his engagement to Miss Todd, the same de- 
spondency that crushed him upon the death of Ann Rut- 
ledge again became his master. His own words describe 

"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 47. "* Lamon, 237-8. 



I 



Partisan m State and National Affairs 103 

his condition: "I am now the most miserable man living. 
If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human 
family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. 
Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell ; I awfully fore- 
bode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible ; I must 
die or be better, it appears to me." ^^ 

He was absent from the Legislature for nearly 
three weeks. A visit to his friend Speed in Kentucky re- 
called him to his better nature.^^ The injustice he had done 
Miss Todd rankled until a reconciliation followed. Out of 
this there arose events that culminated in a duel. Though 
this event was soon hushed, yet its echoes lingered, for he 
said in 1858, "If all the good things I have done are remem- 
bered as long and as well as my scrape with Shields, it is 
plain I shall not soon be forgotten." ^^ 

The panic of 1837 and the disintegration of the internal 
improvement system were holding their requiem over the 
finances of the State. Money was a furtive visitor. The cur- 
rency of the State banks, fairly worthless, was nearly the 
only circulating medium. During the summer of 1841, the 
Administration invalidated the use of State Bank notes for 
the payment of taxes but the salary of lawmakers was still 
payable in currency. The Whigs hastened to charge the 
state officers with adding to the burdens of the people that 
they might be assured of their salaries. The Auditor of 
the State was James Shields. Rather vain and aggressive, 
he was not inclined "to beware of an entrance into a 
quarrel." 

It was at this time that Lincoln was having stolen con- 
ferences with Miss Todd. The restless spirit of the latter 
sought the political field for adventure. A daughter of lei- 

" Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 45. 

»• Herndon, 1, 202. " Ibid., 217. 



104 Lmcoln the Politician 

sure, she had no rival in sarcasm in Springfield. Hunting 
for material, she found a subject in the pretentious Auditor, 
and enjoyed worrying the sensitive official. Under such in- 
fluences, Lincoln aided or sanctioned the composition of an 
article ridiculing Shields. Like many similar productions, 
it professed to come from a back-woods settlement, and af- 
fected a homely if not a vulgar form of speech. The para- 
graph that follows is a sample of the effusion: — 

"I looked in at the window, and there was this same fellow 
Shields floatin' about on the air, without heft or earthly sub- 
stance, just like a lock of cat-fur where cats have been 
fightin'. 

"He was paying his money to this one, and that 
one, and t'other one, and suff erin' great loss because it wasn't 
silver instead of State paper; and the sweet distress he 
seemed to be in, — his very features, in the ecstatic agony of 
his soul, spoke audibly and distinctly, 'Dear girls, it is dis- 
tressing, but I cannot marry you all. Too well I know how 
much you suffer; but do, do remember, it is not my fault 
that I am so handsome and so interesting.' " ^^ 

The production appeared in the Sangamon Journal, and 
at once aroused the wrath of Shields. A demand for the 
identity of the author followed. Doubtless to save Miss 
Todd from entanglement, Lincoln announced himself as the 
writer. Thereupon, Shields demanded a full retraction of all 
offensive allusions. Strangely enough, Lincoln did not wel- 
come this solution of the situation. He took advantage of 
the rather ardent demand for an apology and held his ground 
with these words : "Now, sir, there is in this so much assump- 
tion of facts and so much of menace as to consequences, that 
I cannot submit to answer that note any further than I have, 
and to add that the consequences to which I suppose you 
*« Lamon, 255, 256. 



Partisan m State and National Affairs 105 

allude would be matter of as great regret to me as it pos- 
sibly could to you." ^^ 

With such a start, a duel for a time seemed inevitable. At 
the last moment, common friends conveniently, and doubtless 
to the great satisfaction of the contestants, calmed the af- 
fair without a real encounter. 

Duelling was the rage of the hour.^° Lincoln was too sen- 
sitive to the good opinion of the community to fly in the 
face of popular sentiment. So he violated the law of the 
State to engage in a transaction unsanctioned by his judg- 
ment, not ready to defy the general taste in a matter where 
the standard was still that of the pioneer community. It is 
not therefore surprising that in later years, Lincoln was 
abashed by his part in this fight. This was his last per- 
sonal quarrel, and marks a decisive epoch in his career.*^ 
Thereafter, he became a champion of principles and was pre- 
pared to play a part in debates of world-wide moment. 

A dramatic contest ran through this session on the part 
of the banks to obtain further condonation in the suspension 
of specie payments. The Whigs were friendly, calling them, 
"the institutions of the country," branding opposition un- 
patriotic. The Democrats, however, were on the whole hos- 
tile to the banks. They called them "rag barons, rags, 
printed lies, bank vassals, ragocracy, and the 'British-bought 
bank, bluelight. Federal, Whig party.' " *^ 

The contest was rendered closer by "opportune loans to 

Democrats." The fight grew in intensity as if the wealth, 

the industry and the very happiness of the people were at 

stake. The Democrats, in order to kill the banks, were bent 

on a sine die adjournment of the special term. The Whigs 

in their zeal to save them invented what was a novel expedient 

"^ Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 69. " Nicolay & Hay, 1, 211. 

*^Ihid., 71. "Lamon, 217. 



106 Lincoln the Politician 

at that time in parliamentary tactics. The Whigs absented 
themselves to prevent a quorum, leaving Lincoln and Gilles- 
pie to call the ayes and noes. The Democrats discovered the 
game, and the sergeant-at-arms was sent out. There was 
great excitement in the House, which was then held in a 
church at Springfield. Soon several Whigs were caught and 
brought in and the plan was spoiled. Then Lincoln and his 
accomplice determined to leave the hall. Going to the door, 
and finding it locked, they raised a window and jumped out, 
but not until the Democrats had succeeded in adjourning. 
Mr. Gillespie remarked that "Lincoln always regretted that 
he entered into that arrangement, as he deprecated every 
thing that savored of the revolutionary." ^^ 

This incident discloses Lincoln the politician, Lincoln the 
student of methods engaging in practices that his judgment 
subsequently disapproved. He was thoroughly schooled in 
securing results. The student of Lincoln should not hurry 
over this incident, nor minimize its significance. He mingled 
in common, sordid, political events. 

Though Lincoln engaged freely in the political machina- 
tions of his day, he did not sanction corruption. He stood 
out as a champion of an untainted franchise. He did not 
still his conscience with the soothing medicine that corrup- 
tion was the common practice. He moved at this session 
that the part of the Governor's message relating to fraudu- 
lent voting be referred to the Committee on elections, with 
instructions to prepare and report a bill for such an act as 
might afford the greatest possible protection of the elective 
franchise against all frauds.^* 

Bred in the school of partisanship, where the doctrine that 
spoils is the fruit of victory, was almost a creed, Lincoln 
never enslaved himself by the acceptance of that dogma, 
♦"Lamon, 217. "Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 42. 



Partisan in State and National Affairs 107 

eitlicr in practice or tlieory- Karly in life lie liad reasoned 
out the principle that public office is a trust. He dared to 
assert its integrity at a time when it nut little favor. He 
wrote in 1840 that he was opposed to removal of public 
officials to make places for friends.*^ Still, the malevolent 
conduct of an office holder stirred his resentment. In the 
same letter he said there was no (piestion as to the propriety 
of removing the postmaster at Carlinville, that the latter 
boldly refused to deliver during the canvass all documents 
franked by Whig members of Congress.*** 

By his tact and service, Lincoln stood well with the party 
leaders, so that in 1841 he was widely mentioned as a worthy 
candidate for Governor. A formal protest from his hand 
and that of his close friends against such a movement was 
put in the Sangamon Journal: "His talents and services en- 
dear lilm to the Whig party ; but we do not believe he desires 
the nomination. lie has already made great sacrifices in 
maintaining his party principles, and before his political 
friends ask him to make additional sacrifices, the subject 
should be well considered. The office of Governor, which 
would of necessity interfere with the practice of his profes- 
sion, would poorly compensate him for the loss of four of the 
best years of his life." Whether he could have attained the 
nomination is not known. Lincoln was not accustomed to 
put aside political honors. It is significant that the young 
legislator readily availed himself of ;i nujde of self- glorifying 
declin/itloii poj)ular with jxjliticians to this day.'*^ 

With this session, Lincoln concluded his duties as the rejj- 
rescntative of the people. In 1832, he entered Vandaha, a 
son of poverty, timid of his ability, ungifted in appearance. 
In eight years, he plowed his way to the very front as the 

«• Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 43. **Ibid., 43-44. 

"Nicolay & Hay, 1, 217-8. / 



108 Lmcoln the Politician 

champion of his associates, a skillful leader of his party. 
Still it is amazing how faint a trace Lincoln left on the his- 
tory of Illinois, hewing out no legislative enactment endear- 
ing his memory to the people of the State. Ford only notes 
him as a Congressman who in the State Legislature followed 
the glitter of a false finance, and a destructive plan of public 
improvement. Had his career ended here, no one would have 
ventured to rescue his name from oblivion. One act only, 
overtops the events submerged by time, an event that sober 
history passed by, little knowing that it was the one fact, 
richer than all others, in the annals, under its scrutiny. For 
in the light of later events, the protest of 1837 showed an 
enkindled soul that in the goodness of time thrilled the land 
with a second edition of the Declaration of Independence. 



CHAPTER VII 



RESTLESS POLITICAL AMBITION 



^ I ^HE termination of Lincoln's legislative career, his mar- 
•*• riage and his increasing legal practice did not stay his 
hunger for political distinction. Music, society or nature 
did not allure him. His range of interest was limited. His 
pleasure was not in his fame as a counselor. He was impa- 
tient of the tiresome devotion to detail demanded of the law- 
yer. Longing to be a leader in the world of events, he 
sought a wider field of activity for the full expression of his 
personality, splendidly realizing that his greatest service to 
himself and his fellows was in guiding and interpreting a 
righteous public opinion. 

Lamon has portrayed Lincoln's political ambition with 
merciless vividness, claiming that he was never agitated by 
any passion more intense than his thirst for distinction ; that 
it governed all his conduct, from the hour when he aston- 
ished himself by his oratorical success in the back settle- 
ments of Macon County, to the day when the assassin 
marked him as the first hero of the restored Union; that he 
was ever ready to be honored, and struggled incessantly for 
place. ^ Politics was his world, — a world filled with enchant- 
ment. "In his office," says Mr. Herndon, "he sat down, or 
spilt himself on his lounge, read aloud, told stories, talked 
politics, — never science, art, literature, railroad gatherings, 
colleges, asylums, hospitals, commerce, education, progress, 
'Lamon, 237. 

109 



110 Lincoln the Politician 

nothing that interested the world generally except politics." ^ 
Yet Lamon and Herndon missed the deeper unity in his 
life. Neither politics nor distinction was the end with him. 
They were the paths leading to his palace, not the palace 
itself. It is not too much to say that love of his kind tran- 
scended his love of distinction. At the time when he seemed 
lost in the maelstrom of partisanship, as Burns in the storm 
thought of the "ourie" cattle, so Lincoln thought of those 
hapless sons of misfortune who were biding the "bitter 
brattle" of slavery. Thus in a letter to his friend Speed, 
he said, "In 1841 you and I had together a tedious low- 
water trip on a steamboat from Louisville to St. Louis. You 
may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth 
of the Ohio there were on board ten or a dozen slaves 
shackled together with irons. That sight was a continued 
torment to me, and I see something like it every time I 
touch the Ohio or any other slave border." ^ 

The extent to which he mingled in political affairs is shown 
by his activity at a mass meeting in March, 1843, at Spring- 
field. He was the master of ceremonies. In a careful state- 
ment, he uttered the cardinal principles of his party. He 
was materially steeped in the party spirit of his day. For the 
fifth resolution recommends that a Whig candidate for Con- 
gress be run in every district, regardless of the chances of 
success. "We are aware," it continued, "that it is some- 
times a temporary gratification, when a friend cannot suc- 
ceed, to be able to choose between opponents ; but we believe 
that that gratification is the seed time which never fails to 
be followed by a most abundant harvest of bitterness. By 
this policy we entangle ourselves." ^ 

Though Lincoln, at first, fought the convention system for 

'Lamon, 482. ^ Ibid., 76. 

'Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 216. 



I 



Restless Political Ambition 111 



the nomination of candidates, as undemocratic, his conver- 
sion to its championship further exposes his training in the 
school of practical politics. The statement declared that 
the Whigs should not stop to inquire whether the system was 
just, but that while their opponents used the plan it was 
madness in them not to defend themselves with it.^ 

The conclusion of this address is also a sure sign of pro- 
longed association with the hue and cry of party spirit: It 
stated with assurance that the Whigs were always a majority 
of the nation, and that if every Whig would act as though 
he knew the result to depend upon his action, that surely a 
Whig would be elected President of the United States.'^ 

Political office being the reward of party service, Lincoln 
was a zealous worker in the ranks. He was ever at the call 
of the party managers for speeches or other personal work. 
They could not charge him with being a laggard in the day 
of defeat. He did not wait for waves of advancement. He 
was not in accord with the policy that the office should seek 
the man. He slowly toiled his way to the eminence he 
reached. While Lincoln was in Congress, Herndon wrote 
to him complaining of his sluggard progress in politics, and 
carped at the old men for usurping all the places of power 
and profit. In an intimate reply to his associate, we find 
the plain paths he trod: "You must not wait to be brought 
forward by the older men. For instance, do you suppose that 
I should ever have got into notice if I had waited to be hunted 
up and pushed forward by older men.'* You young men get 
together and form a 'Rough and Ready Club,' and have reg- 
ular meetings and speeches. Take in everybody you can get. 
Harrison Grimsley, L. A. Enos, Lee Kimball, and C. W. Ma- 
theny would do to begin the thing; but as you go along 
gather up all the shrewd, wild boys about town, whether 
•Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 76. ^ Ibid., 79. 



112 Lincoln the Politician 

just of age or a little under age, — Chris. Logan, Reddick 
Ridgely, Lewis Swizler, and hundreds such. Let every one 
play the part he can play best, — some speak, some sing, and 
all 'holler.' Your meetings will be of evenings ; the older 
men and the women will go to hear you; so that it will not 
only contribute to the election of 'Old Zach,' but will be an 
interesting pastime, and improving to the intellectual facul- 
ties of all engaged. Don't fail to do this." ^ 

Lincoln no sooner completed his long term in the Legisla- 
ture than he cast his eye on a seat in Congress. "Now, if 
you should hear" he wrote a friend, "any one say that Lin- 
coln don't want to go to Congress, I wish you, as a personal 
friend of mine, would tell him you have reason to believe he 
is mistaken. The truth is I would like to go very much. 
Still, circumstances may happen which may prevent my being 
a candidate. If there are any who be my friends in such an 
enterprise, what I now want is that they shall not throw me 
away just yet." ^ 

Lincoln's race for the nomination was full of excitement. 
When he began his canvass, he was a member of the firm of 
Logan and Lincoln. Besides Hardin, Baker and Lincoln, 
Logan also was a candidate. Logan deemed his long ser- 
vice as entitling him to the honor, while Lincoln regarded his 
legislative career as his claim to distinction. It is not amaz- 
ing that concord did not dwell in this home of political 
rivalry. Herndon says he was not, therefore, surprised to 
have Lincoln rush into his quarters and with more or less 
agitation tell him that he had determined to sever the part- 
nership with Logan ; and Herndon states that although 
painfully aware of his want of ability and experience, when 
Lincoln remarked in his earnest, honest way, "Billy, I can 
trust you if you can trust mc," he felt relieved and accepted 

'Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 131-132. 'Herndon, 1, 253. 



Restless Political Ambition 113 

the generous proposal of legal partnership.® 

The most dramatic incident in this fight was the con- 
test between Baker and Lincoln. It was a battle between 
brilliancy and solidity. No man of his time surpassed Baker 
in dashing eloquence. Handsome, of winning personality, he 
was the idol of the young men of Springfield. Lincoln was 
no longer, as at New Salem, the leader of the gang. His 
alliance with aristocratic Mary Todd, the demands of his 
profession and a settled life largely sundered the partner- 
ship. It was a natural, not a sudden, intentional separation. 
Strange rumors were afloat that he was no more a friend 
to the lowly and that he was seeking new ways. Not free to 
mingle with the people, he could not readily combat the sus- 
picion. And they were ever demanding a perfect embodi- 
ment of their conception of heroism. They found it fully 
in one of the most dramatic heroes and charming personali- 
ties in the panorama of American politics — Edward D. 
Baker. 

When the friends of Baker first put forth the charge that 
Lincoln belonged to a proud family, he was amused. He met 
it with a laughing remark: "That sounds strange to me, for 
I do not remember of but one who ever came to see me, and 
while he was in town he was accused of stealing a Jew's 
harp." ^^ But as the campaign developed in intensity, and 
he realized that the shameless report was scattered to his 
harm, he thought bitterly of the false charge. The injustice 
of the accusation and his incapacity to meet it, quite crushed 
him. He could meet an open foe with a giant's strength, 
but the gnat of malignant rumor defied him. Thus the 
humblest politician that ever trod the soil of the Western 
continent was not saved from the charge of being "puff*ed 
up," and the leader of the lowly traveled in the domain of 
» Herndon, 1, 252. ^" Ibid., 255. 



114 Lincoln the Politician 

bitter experience. The enthusiasm of the young men car- 
ried the day for Baker in Sangamon County. 

After his defeat, Lincohi took his old friend Jim Matheny 
far into the woods. He unburdened himself, protesting that 
he was anything but aristocratic and proud. "Why, Jim," 
he said, "I am now and always shall be the same Abe Lmcoln 
I was when you first saw me." 

The story of the defeat as told by Lincoln to Speed, shows 
much of his pohtical training: "Baker beat me, and got the 
delegation instructed to go for him. The meeting, in spite 
of my attempt to decline it, appointed me one of the dele- 
gates; so that in getting Baker the nomination I shall be 
fixed a good deal Hke a fellow who is made a groomsman 
to a man who has cut him out and is marrying his own dear 

'gal'." ^2 

Yet, Lincoln did not at once reconcile himself to the selec- 
tion of Baker. A letter from his friends in Menard County 
led him still to contemplate possibiHties and induced him to 
skirmish on the frontier of his duty to the choice of Sanga- 
mon County. He wrote to a supporter: "You say you shall 
instruct your delegates for me unless I object. I certainly 
shall not object. That would be too pleasant a compliment 
for me to tread in the dust. And besides if anything should 
happen (which, however, is not probable) by which Baker 
should be thrown out of the fight, I would be at liberty to 
accept the nomination if I could ge\ it." ^^ 

In this same letter, he gave an account of the factors that 
conspired to his defeat, saying that it would astonish the 
older citizens to learn that he (uneducated, penniless boy, 
working on a flatboat at $10.00 per month) had been put 
down there as a candidate of pride and wealth; that there 

" Lamon, 273. " I^^"^-' ^^' 

"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 79. 



Restless Political Ambition 115 

was, too, the strangest combination of church influence 
against him ; that Baker was a Campbellite, and with few 
exceptions got all that church; that his wife had some rela- 
tions in the Presbyterian churches, and some with the Epis- 
copal churches, and wherever it would tell, he was set down 
as either one or the other, while it was everywhere contended 
that no Christian ought to go for him, because he belonged to 
no church, was suspected of being a deist, and had talked 
about fighting a duel.^* In the long letter Lincoln did not 
even mention the personal strength and popularity of his 
opponent, or suggest that Baker was the victor by his own 
merit. 

Though Lincoln returned to the practice of his profession 
with increased devotion, he kept his interest in local and 
national events. He still remained a student of the whims 
of individual voters as well as a keen observer of political 
affairs of general moment. A letter to Hardin at Wash- 
ington illustrates this : "Knowing that you have correspond- 
ents enough, I have forborne to trouble you heretofore; and 
I now only do so, to get you to set a matter right which has 
got wrong Avith one of our best friends. It is old Uncle 
Thomas Campbell of Spring Creek — (Berlin, P. O.). He has 
received several documents from you, and he says that they 
are old newspapers and documents, having no sort of interest 
in them. He is, therefore, getting a strong impression that 
you treat him with disrespect. This, I know, is a mistaken 
impression; and you must correct it. The way, I leave to 
yourself. Robert W. Canfield says that he would like to 
have a document or two from you. 

"The Locos here are in considerable trouble about Van 
Buren's letter on Texas, and the Virginia electors. They are 
growing sick of the Tariff question ; and consequently are 
" Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 80. 



116 Lincoln the Politician 

much confounded at V. B.'s cutting them off from the new 
Texas question. Nearly half the leaders swear they won't 
stand it." ^^ 

As early as 1837, Webster publicly declared that it could 
not be disguised that a desire, or an intention, was already 
manifested to annex Texas to the United States.^^ Under 
the nursing of Tyler and Callioun, a treaty of annexation 
was concluded and the scheme almost consummated. The 
Senate, in 1844, alone stood in the way. The proposal of 
annexation overtopped all other issues in the campaign of 
that year. It proved at the time a dominating incident and 
left abundant traces on American history. Van Buren, rising 
to the solitary eminence of statesmanship, uttered a firm 
and subdued protest against the southern policy. But the 
edict of the Calhoun democracy, that Texas must be an- 
nexed was remorseless, and their old friend, Martin Van 
Buren, in the homely language of Lincoln, was "turned out 
to root." ^^ It proved the beginning of the cleft on the 
slavery question that in less than twenty years hopelessly 
divided the successors of the triumphant Jackson party. 

In June, 1844, Clay fairly represented the views of the 
Whigs declaring that the annexation of Texas, at this time, 
without the consent of Mexico, as a measure compromising 
the National character, involving war with Mexico, probably 
with other foreign powers, dangerous to the integrity of the 
Union, inexpedient in the present financial condition of the 
country, was not called for by any general expression of 
public opinion. -^^ Later coquetting with southern sympa- 
thies on this issue, he modified his opposition to the present 
annexation of Texas with the fatal statement that he had no 
hesitation in saying that, far from having any personal ob- 

1'' Tarbell, 2, 290. " Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 140. 

" Greeley, 1, 152. " Greeley, 1, 164. 



Restless Political Ambition 117 

jection to the annexation of Texas, he should be glad to see 
it — without dishonor, without war, with the common consent 
of the Union and upon just and fair terms.^^ This seeming 
retreat, despite all explanation, insured his defeat. The di- 
version gained him no strength in the South and alienated 
needed support in the North. 

The Southern States openly put forth their reasons for 
annexation. To keep pace with the northern growth they 
needed new States, otherwise they saw the doom of the insti- 
tution that they deemed the very palladium of their pros- 
perity and happiness. The unresting Calhoun finally tri- 
umphed in awakening dormant fears and sentiments. ^^ 

The main contention in the famous letter of Jackson was 
better calculated, than this southern claim, to appeal to the 
northern democracy, and was more in harmony with the 
substantial trend of the national destiny. "I do not hesitate 
to say that the welfare and happiness of our Union require 
that it should be accepted. If, in a military point of view 
alone, the question be examined, it will be found to be most 
important to the United States to be in possession of the 
territory. 

"Great Britain has already made treaties with Texas; 
and we know that far-seeing nation never omits a 
circumstance, in her extensive intercourse with the world, 
which can be turned to account in increasing her military 
resources. May she not enter into an alliance with 
Texas.?'' 21 

While the Texan issue stirred the Garrisonian Abolition- 
ists, it did not allay their hostility to organized political 
action, they declared that they would open no road to politi- 
cal preferment; that the strength of their cause was in the 
humble, fervent prayer of the righteous man, which availeth 

"Greeley, 1, 1G6. ^^ Ibid., 158. "^ Ibid. 



118 Lincoln the Politician 

much, and the blessing of that God who had chosen the 
weak things of the world to confound the mighty; that it 
was to be expected that some political wolves would put on 
the clothing of Abolitionism, and seek to elevate themselves 
and manage the anti-slavery organization for their own pur- 
poses.* The political Abolitionists, however, named James 
G. Birney for President. 

There was then, already, a complexity of opinion on the 
slavery question that shadowed forth the future alignment of 
parties. While many were confounded by wavering lights, 
Lincoln picked his way with sure footed precision through 
maze and pitfall. His unprejudiced mind wondered at the 
conduct of the "Liberty men" that deprecating the annexa- 
tion of Texas, deliberately promoted its success by indirec- 
tion. Their application of the proposition "we are not to 
do evil that good may come of it" he reduced to plain sophis- 
try, saying that if by their votes they could have prevented 
the extension of slavery, it would have been good, and not 
evil, so to have used their votes, even though it involved the 
casting of them for a slaveholder, and he earnestly asked if 
the fruit of electing Clay would have been to prevent the ex- 
tension of slavery, could the act of electing him have been 
evil.'' ^^ He held that it was a paramount duty of the free 
States to let the slavery of the other States alone, while it 
was equally clear that they should never knowingly lend 
themselves, directly or indirectly, to prevent slavery from 
dying a natural death — to find new places for it to live in, 
when it could no longer exist in the old.^^ Here, is clearly 
announced the seeming paradox that, though slavery was an 
evil, there still remained the duty to let it alone in the States 
where it then existed. This further piles up evidence that 
his views suffered little change with years. 

* Johnson, 307. "Tarbell, 2, 293. ""Ibid., 293-294. 



Restless Political Ambition 119 

Lincoln boldly participated in the campaign of 1844 ; Clay 
was the political hero of his youth and manhood as Wash- 
ington was of his boyhood. Like many other Whigs, he, too, 
was enthralled by the magic of the far famed eloquence of 
the name, that, in the words of the orator who nominated 
Clay, expressed more enthusiasm, that it had in it more elo- 
quence than the names of Chatham, Burke, Patrick Henry, 
and, more than any other and all other names together.^* 

During the campaign, Lincoln encountered his former em- 
ployer, John Calhoun, and other old antagonists. It is said 
that Calhoun came nearer whipping Lincoln in debate than 
Douglas did.^^ Nothing survives of those speeches. Still, 
his enthusiasm and skill in the controversies of the campaign 
awakened a demand for his services throughout the State. 
His name as an orator even invaded Indiana. In the closing 
hours of the contest his voice was heard on the soil that he 
hastened from some fifteen years before as an adventurer. 
While speaking at Gentryville, his old friend Nat Grigsby 
entered the room. Lincoln stopped and crying out "There's 
Nat," scrambled through the crowd to his modest associate 
of former days. After greeting him warmly, he returned to 
the platform. When the speech was done, he passed the rest 
of the evening with Nat. Then Lincoln insisted that they 
should sleep together; and long into the night, they talked 
over old times and were once more Abe and Nat.^® 

The appearance of Clay's August letter stirred the politi- 
cal Abolitionist^ to fateful activity. They insisted that his 
antagonism to annexation, not being founded on anti-slavery 
convictions, was of no account. ^^ They polled enough votes 
to elect pro-slavery Polk. Mingled with the ribaldry, the 
din and howl of abandoned politicians over the election of 

"Nicolay & Hay, 1, 225. ""Ibid., 274-5. 

"Lamon, 274, "Greeley, 1, 167. 



120 Lmcoln the Politician 

Polk, were the exultant shouts of the sober and respectable 
men of the Liberty Party. They celebrated in unison the 
victory they both promoted. 

The solemn selection of James K. Polk instead of Henry 
Clay as President, was a discordant incident that the Whig 
patriot did not linger over willingly. That a pigmy should 
sit in the seat of the statesman, that a puppet should stand 
in the place of the nature-dowered son of American policies, 
— this opinion made Clay's followers doubt the wisdom of 
republican government. To them this defeat was more than 
a partisan grief, it was a national loss. From loyal support- 
ers hurried a grand tribute to their uncrowned champion in 
his retreat : "We will remember you, Henry Clay, while the 
memory of the glorious or the sense of the good remains in 
us, with a grateful and admiring affection which shall 
strengthen with our strength and shall not decline with our 
decline. We will remember you in all our future trials and 
reverses as him whose name honored defeat and gave it a 
glory which victory could not have brought. We will re- 
member you when patriotic hope rallies again to successful 
contest with the agencies of corruption and ruin ; for we 
will never know a triumph which you do not share in life, 
whose glory does not accrue to you in death." ^^ 
=^Nicolay & Hay, 1, 236. 



CHAPTER VIII 

LINCOLN OPPOSES THE INCEPTION OP THE MEXICAN "WAE IN 

CONGRESS 

T T is quite generally believed in Sangamon County that a 
-*• bargain was entered into between Baker, Lincoln, Logan 
and Hardin whereby the "four should 'rotate' in Congress 
until each had had a term." ^ There is evidence in the writ- 
ings of Lincoln that there was some kind of an understand- 
ing between Baker, Lincoln and Logan. There is a startling 
story as to the character of the arrangement. A delegate 
to the Pekin Convention of 1843 states, that he was asked 
by Lincoln immediately after the nomination of Hardin, if 
he would favor a resolution recommending Baker for the 
next term. On being answered in the affirmative Lincoln 
told the delegate to prepare the resolution, and he would 
support it. It created a profound sensation, especially 
among the friends of Hardin. After angry discussion, the 
resolution passed by a bare majority.^ This incident illus- 
trates the sagacious policy of Lincoln in furthering his rest- 
less political ambition. He publicly declined to contest the 
nomination of Baker in 1844. Pursuant to a widespread 
expectation. Baker did not stand in the way of Lincoln two 
years later. 

Lincoln kept close to those who moulded public opinion, — 
the men of the press. Then the personality of an editor was 
a weighty factor in the decision of political contests. He 
*Lamon, 2T5. "Tarbell, 195-6. 

121 



122 Lincoln the Politician 

wrote to an editor and supporter in 1846 that as the paper 
at Pekin had nominated Hardin for governor and the Alton 
paper indirectly nominated him for Congress, it would give 
Hardin a great start, and perhaps use him up, if the Whig 
papers of the district should nominate Hardin for Congress, 
and that he wished that the editor would let nothing appear 
in his paper which might operate against him.^ 

To this, he received a reply that this supporter had, in 
fact, nominated Hardin for governor. The tactful response 
deserves attention: "Let me assure you that if there is any- 
thing in my letter indicating an opinion that the nomination 
for governor, which I supposed to have been made in the 
Pekin paper, was operating or could operate against me, 
such was not my meaning. Now that I know that nomination 
was made by you, I say that it may do me good, while I do 
not see that it can do me harm. But, while the subject is in 
agitation, should any of the papers in the district nominate 
the same man for Congress, that would do me harm ; and it 
was that which I wished to guard against. Let me assure 
you that I do not for a moment suppose that what you have 
done is ill-judged, or that anything that you shall do will 
be." ^ 

"I should be pleased," he wrote another friend, "if I could 
concur with you in the hope that my name would be the only 
one presented to the convention; but I cannot. Hardin 
is a man of desperate energy and perseverance, and one that 
never backs out ; and I fear, to think otherwise is to be de- 
ceived in the character of our adversary. I would rejoice 
to be spared the labor of a contest; but 'being in', I shall 
go it thoroughly, and to the bottom." He then admonished 
his friend not to relax any of his vigilance.^ 

^Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 82. 'Ibid., 84. 

^Ibid., 83. 



Lincoln Opposes Inception of Mexican War 123 

He was sensitive to the shifting changes of the campaign. 
"Nathan Dresser is here," he wrote a friend, "and speaks as 
though the contest between Hardin and me is to be doubt- 
ful in Menard County, — I know he is candid and this alarms 
me some — I asked him to tell me the names of the men that 
were going strong for Hardin ; he said Morris was about as 
strong as any — Now, tell me, is Morris going it openly? 
You remember you wrote me, that he would be neutral. 
Nathan also said that some man he could not remember had 
said lately that Menard County was going to decide the 
contest and that that made the contest very doubtful. Do 
you know who that was? 

"Don't fail to write me instantly on receiving telling me all 
— particularly the names of those who are going strong 
against me."^ 

The splendid generalship of Lincoln, his telling blows 
gradually disposed of the gallant Hardin, who gracefully 
declined to be longer considered as a candidate. Through the 
inspiration of Lincoln, with equal gallantry, there promptly 
appeared in the leading Whig journal, a statement superbly 
designed to soothe the dignity of his late antagonist: "We 
have had, and now have, no doubt that he (Hardin) has been, 
and now is, a great favorite with the Whigs of the district. 
He states, in substance, that there was never any under- 
standing on his part that his name was not to be presented 
in the canvasses of 1844 and 1846. This, we believe, is 
strictly true. Still, the doings of the Pekin Convention did 
seem to point that way ; and the general's voluntary declina- 
tion as to the canvass of 1844 was by many construed into 
an acquiescence on his part. These things had led many 
of his most devoted friends to not expect him to be a candi- 
date at this time. Add to this the relation that Mr. Lincoln 
•Tarbell, 1, 204. 



124 Lmcoln the Politician 

bears, and has borne, to the party, and it is not strange 
that many of those who are as strongly devoted to Gen. Har- 
din as they are to Mr. Lincoln should prefer the latter at 
this time. We do not entertain a doubt, that, if we could 
reverse the positions of the two men, that a very large por- 
tion of those who now have supported Mr. Lincoln most 
warmly would have supported Gen. Hardin quite as 
warmly." ^ 

He was a thorough politician. He attended to details 
himself. Like a general on the battlefield, he kept his reserve 
forces well in hand. He would rather minimize his own 
strength than mistake the power of opposing forces. He 
never lost a victory through misplaced confidence. Though 
he looked darkly at a contest, this rather increased than 
abated his activity. From policy as well as inclination he 
did not engage in the crimination of his adversaries. He 
had a marvelous capacity of personally commanding the con- 
duct of men. 

Out of their ranks, the Democrats called the famed 
preacher — Peter Cartwright, as their standard bearer in this 
Congressional contest. Until he was sixteen years old, he 
was a slave to the common vices of his day. His dramatic 
conversion during the revival of 1801 preluded the marvelous 
career of a man who unflinchingly, for sixty years, "breasted 
the storm and suffered the hardships" of his calling in forest 
and prairie. His heroic treatment of Jackson shows the 
man. "Just then," Cartwright says, "I felt some one pull 
my coat in the stand, and turning my head, my fastidious 
preacher, whispering a little loud, said: 'General Jackson 
has come in: General Jackson has come in.' I felt a flash 
of indignation run all over me like an electric shock and 
facing about to my congregation, and purposely speaking 
''Lamon, 276-7. 



Lmcol/n Opposes Inception of Mexiccm War 126 

out audibly, I said, 'Who is Genei*al Jackson? If he don't 
get his soul converted, God will damn him as quick as he 
would a Guinea negro !' " ® 

The reasons that prompted Cartwright to follow the trail 
from Kentucky to Illinois are of historical importance. 
"First, I would get entirely clear of the evil of slavery. 
Second, I could raise my children to work where work was 
not considered a degradation. Third, I believed I could bet- 
ter my temporal circumstances, and procure lands for my 
children as they grew up. And fourth, I could carry the 
gospel to destitute souls that had, by their removal into 
some new country, been deprived of the means of grace." ^ 
The South poorly reckoned the cost to her, of the institution 
that drove into exile such master spirits, who enriched the 
states of their adoption. 

Hating human bondage, still he was no friend of abolition- 
ism. He declared that it riveted the chains of slavery tight- 
er ; blocked the way to reasonable emancipation ; threw fire 
brands into legislative halls ; that millions were expended 
every year in angry debates and that laws for the good of 
the people were neglected ; talents and money thrown away ; 
that prejudice, strife, and wrath, and every evil passion 
stirred up until the integrity of the Union was in imminent 
danger, and that not one poor slave was set free ; not one 
dollar expended to colonize them and send them home happy 
and free; that through unchristian, excited prejudices mobs 
were fast becoming the order of the day. 

He maintained that after more than twenty years' experi- 
ence as a traveling preacher in slave states, he was con- 
vinced that the most successful way to ameliorate the condi- 
tion of the slaves and Christianize them, and finally secure 
their freedom was to treat their owners kindly and not to 

'Cartwright, 192. "Jbid., 245. 



126 LmcoVn the Politician 

meddle politically with slavery ! 

Patriot and prophet alike, he contended that abolitionism 
awakened a bitter and wrathful spirit among the guardians 
of the black man that made discord a partner in the Federal 
Union ; that despite the legion moral evils of slavery, he had 
never seen a rabid abolition or free soil society that he 
could join, because they resorted to unjustifiable agitation, 
confounding the innocent with the guilty, and that if force 
was resorted to the Union would be dissolved, a civil war 
would follow, death and carnage would ensue, and the only 
free nation on the earth would be destroyed.^ ^ In early 
manhood, Cartwright cherished sentiments that were brother 
to those Lincoln later avowed at the outset of his career. 

In his autobiography, Cartwright states that he was twice 
elected as a representative from Sangamon County, and he 
found that almost every measure had to be carried by a cor- 
rupt bargain and sale.^^ 

For nearly half a century he had traversed the western 
states. In nearly every Methodist Church and mission his 
voice had summoned many to a better life. His ministration 
to the sick, his rides at night over the lonely prairie to the 
death bed had endeared him to thousands of homes. He 
had a host of relations in the Congressional district. All 
this and his steady advocacy of Jacksonian Democracy con- 
stituted him no paltry antagonist. 

An active campaign ensued. Lincoln was again subjected 
to the harsh charge of religious infidelity. The Whigs, 
taking up the challenge rallied to his support. Their activ- 
ity soon turned the tide. Lincoln carried the district by 
1511, exceeding the vote of Clay in 1844 by nearly 600. 
Sangamon County showed her loyalty by piling up a larger 
majority than ever before given to a pohtical favorite.^^ 

" Cartwright, 129. " Ibid., 262. " Herndon, 1, 259. 



Lmcoln Opposes Inception of Mexican War 127 

The battle largely centered around the wisdom of a preacher 
participating in politics. The pioneer, who twenty years 
before, had voted for Cartwright had now become a citizen 
of a settled community. After this election, there was no 
question as to the deep seated distrust of the average voter 
permitting a church official to be the political representative 
of the people. 

A Democrat who loathed the canvass of Cartwright still 
deemed it a hard thing to vote against his party. So Lin- 
coln told him that he would give him a candid opinion as 
to whether the vote was needed or not. On the day of elec- 
tion, Lincoln told the Democrat that he had got the preacher, 
— and didn't want his vote.^^ With this power to foretell 
results, Lincoln was more richly dowered than any modern 
leader. It was this gift that enabled him to do and speak 
things that to other men seemed ruinous. 

The victory of Polk in its immediate results hardly sur- 
prised friend or foe. His election was the signal gun of the 
Mexican war. Events were rapidly hurried forward under 
the fostering guidance of the Tyler administration and in 
its last gasp a messenger was dispatched to Texas to mature 
the annexation.^* In weighty words Greeley uttered the 
protest of the aroused North, declaring that the annexation 
of Texas challenged the regard of mankind and defied the 
consciences of our own citizens ; that for the first time our 
Union stood before the nations, not merely as an upholder, 
but as a zealous, unscruplous propagandist of human slav- 
ery. ^^ It required no special genius to provoke martial 
hostilities and anxiety soon found ammunition to drive even 
a reluctant opponent to the chance of battle. So Mexico 
was almost dared into the inevitable combat. 

Until this time the nation was little stirred by political 
" Lamon, 278. » Nicolay & Hay, 1, 236. " Greeley, 1, 178. 



128 Lincoln the Politician 

unrest and strife. The battles in Congress that form so vast 
an asset of the historian, hardly disturbed the daily life 
of the inventor, farmer, mechanic and student. Lincoln 
entered the national Legislature at a momentous period. For 
more than a third of a century, "grim visaged war had 
smoothed her wrinkled front." The nation was lost in in- 
dustrial pursuits, the hero of the community was the business 
man. Patriotism slumbered, national impulses seemed dead. 
Then the wild passion for war awakened the people from 
apathy, they rejoiced that the spirit of the fathers was still 
strong in them, that they had not forgotten Bunker Hill 
and New Orleans. Commerce for the time forewent its emi- 
nence, the soldier stepped to the front. In a moment the 
standard of the nation shifted from the dollar to the deed. 
Men did not stop to debate the righteousness of the war or 
what the end would be. They did not reason as to its effect 
on the status of slavery. Emotion, not judgment, was their 
guide. They knew only the pulsation of a subtle and sub- 
duing patriotism. Many marched to the front, while others 
hurried on supplies and ammunition to the seat of trouble. 
The present alone absorbed their interest, busied every im- 
pulse. 

Lincoln did not willingly come into conflict with this public 
sentiment. He, too, was moved by the heroism of the hour, 
he too saw with pride the flag unfurled and heard the throb- 
bing drum. When Hardin and Baker and Shields hastened 
from Springfield for the field of glory and danger, he was 
one of the speakers at the parting public meeting. The 
Congressman-elect urged a sturdy, vigorous prosecution of 
hostilities, admonished all to permit no shame to the govern- 
ment and to stand by the flag till peace came with honor. ^® 
This was not a reluctant politic approbation, as Lamon inti- 
"Herndon, 1, 260. 



Lincoln Opposes Inception of Mexican War 129 

mates, ^' but a benediction upon the cause of his country 
that came deep from the heart. 

The attitude of Lincohi toward the annexation of Texas 
is of importance, not alone for its own intrinsic interest but 
as illustrating the opinion of thousands of sober, patriotic 
citizens throughout the land. These had no kinship with 
the radicals who regarded the conduct of the war, as well 
as its inception, with bitter hostihty; who feared the visita- 
tion of Divine Power upon a conflict conceived in aggression. 
Thej were not akin to the Democrats who looked neither to 
the right nor left but marched over cherished principles of 
the Republic for the sake of extending the territory and en- 
larging the activity of a sectional institution. 

Lincoln entered Congress with no thought of opposition 
to any phase of the war. Like Grant, he doubtless knew that 
the man who criticized a war in which his nation is engaged, 
no matter whether right or wrong, occupies no enviable 
place in life or history, and that he might better advocate 
"war, pestilence and famine," than to act as an obstruc- 
tionist to a war already begun.^^ 

The President and his advisors would not allow the Whigs 
to vote alone for supplies. They sought to interpolate reso- 
lutions expressing the original justice of the war. Lincoln's 
interesting commentary on this uncalled for procedure is 
worth quoting. "Upon these resolutions when they shall be 
put on their passage I shall be compelled to vote ; so that 
I cannot be silent if I would. Seeing this, I went about 
preparing myself to give the vote understandingly when it 
should come. I carefully examined the President's message, 
to ascertain what he himself had said and proved upon the 
point. The result of this examination was to make the 
impression that, taking for true all the President states as 

" Lamon, 281. " Grant, 45. 



130 Lmcoln the PoUticimi 

facts, he falls far short of proving his justification; and 
that the President would have gone farther with his proof if 
it had not been for the small matter that the truth would 
not permit him. Under the impression thus made I gave the 
vote before mentioned." ^^ 

The issue once made, Lincoln and other Whigs did not 
hesitate; he did not even hide in silence. He took up the 
challenge of the President that war existed by the act of 
Mexico. He followed with probing resolutions, with a series 
of penetrating questions that precluded quibbling. The first 
one well illustrates the series. 

"Resolved, By the House of Representatives, that the 
President of the United States be respectfully requested to 
inform the House — 

"First, whether the spot on which the blood of our citizens 
was shed, as in his message declared, was or was not within 
the territory of Spain, at least after the treaty of 1819 
until the Mexican revolution." * 

The President never heeded them, nor does it appear that 
any friend of the administration soberly attempted the sore 
task of facing their keen, sabre-like stroke. They allowed 
little room for shifting, and demanded a logical response. 
Three weeks later, came the speech which was responsive to 
the desire of his Springfield friends to distinguish himself. ^^ 
It was sober and restrained in expression ; curbed in state- 
ment, concise in logic and comprejiensive in treatment. He 
spoke more like a distinguished jurist than a partisan 
pleader. 

"Now, sir, for the purpose of obtaining the very best evi- 
dence as to whether Texas had actually carried her revolu- 
tion to the place where the hostilities of the present war 

"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 101. """ Ibid., 96. 

* Ibid., 97. 



Lincoln Opposes Inception of Mexican War 131 

commenced, let the President answer the interrogatories I 
proposed, as before mentioned, or some other similar ones. 
Let him answer fully, fairly and candidly. Let him answer 
with facts and not with arguments. Let him remember he 
sits where Washington sat and so remembering, let him an- 
swer as Washington would answer. As a nation should not, 
and the Almighty will not, be evaded, so let him attempt no 
evasion — no equivocation. And if, so answering, he can 
show that the soil was ours where the first blood of the war 
was shed, — then I am with him for his justification." ^^ Then 
a sentence follows, painful and remorseless in its treatment 
of the vacillating policy of the President stating that his 
mind, taxed beyond its power, was running hither and thither, 
like some tortured creature on a burning surface, finding no 
position on which it could settle down and be at ease.^^ 

This speech should have won him a high place in the na- 
tional arena of controversy and debate, were it not that the 
shifting standard of public judgment often exalts the thing 
of the hour for intrinsic value, ostentation for merit, popu- 
larity for worth. This speech may in itself command the 
interest of those who would know the motives that led the 
Whigs to their course of conduct. They did not seek hard 
duties, but still they would not shirk or retreat when they 
showed their front. 

Lincoln soon learned that his resolutions and speech, how- 
ever unanswerable, did not save him from the damaging 
charge of opposition to the war of his country. Dissatisfac- 
tion ran through the Whig ranks in Illinois. General dis- 
content with the course of his partner even turned Hemdon 
into one of the malcontents. A letter soon advised Lincoln 
of the condition, who sent a sturdy reply to the complaint 
on his vote on Ashmun's amendment, — "That vote affirms 

"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 105. ''Ibid., 107. 



132 Lincoln the Politician 

that the war was unnecessarily and unconstitutionally com- 
menced by the President ; and I will stake my life that if you 
had been in my place you would have voted just as I did. 
Would you have voted what you felt and knew to be a lie? 
I know you would not. Would you have gone out of the 
House — skulked the vote.'' I expect not. — You are com- 
pelled to speak, and your only alternative is to tell the truth 
or a lie. I cannot doubt which you would do." "^ 

Later Herndon forwarded a constitutional argument in 
favor of the policy of Polk ingeniously saying that it was 
the duty of the President as Commander-in-Chief of the army 
and navy, in the absence of Congress, if the country was 
about to be invaded, to go, if necessary, into the very heart 
of Mexico and prevent the invasion; that it would be a 
crime in the executive to let the country be invaded in the 
least degree ; that the action of the President was a neces- 
sity.24 

The reply that hurried to Springfield was a supreme an- 
swer. No judge of a high tribunal, no statesman of mature 
experience could have more thoroughly disposed of a specious 
contention.^^ In this letter of Lincoln there appears a might 
and an ability to grapple with a great issue, a sincerity 
of purpose, a soberness of thought that well betokens a 
student and patriot, whose heart was in unison with the in- 
herent purposes of the Republic. He insisted that the im- 
perial function of the Constitution in leaving the declara- 
tion of war with Congress was that no one man should hold 
the power of bringing the oppression of war upon the peo- 
ple. -*" Through this letter there looms up the man, who 
above all men hated kingly power and domination, and the 
consequent impoverishment of the people. Herndon, the 

^Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 110. ^Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 112. 

»* Herndon, 1, 266. ^ Ibid. 



Lincoln Opposes Inception of Mexican War 133 

Abolitionist, would, for the sake of policy, sanction the incep- 
tion of an unjust aggression, while the conservative Lincoln 
stood resolutely when the hour summoned uncompromising 
conduct ; then his knees were as "unwedgeable as the gnarled 
oak." When principle was at stake he sent policy to the 
rear. At such times he was more aggressive than the radical. 

A letter to the Editor of the Tribune shows the deep hold 
that this subject had on Lincoln, his restlessness to be rightly 
understood on the theme. And the fact that he undertook 
to correct Horace Greeley in a familiar tone is an indica- 
tion that he was coming to the front as a champion in the 
Whig ranks. He wrote the editor that he discovered a para- 
graph in the Tribune in which it was said that all Whigs 
and many Democrats contended that the boundary of Texas 
stopped at the Nueces. He contended that such a state- 
ment was a mistake which he disliked to see go uncorrected 
in a leading Whig paper; that the large majority of Whigs 
in the House of Representatives had not taken that position 
and that as the position could not be maintained it gave 
the Democrats advantage of them. In conclusion Lincoln 
asked the editor to examine what he said in a printed speech 
that he was sending him.^^ 

He earnestly wrote to a minister that he would be obliged 
for a reference to any law, human or divine, in which an 
authority could be found for saying that the action of the 
Government constituted "no aggression." He then asked 
is the precept " 'Whatsoever ye would that men should do to 
you, do ye even so to them' obsolete? of no force? of no 
application?" ^^ 

He was not so elated with patriotism that he lost his 
standard of righteousness. As he was an honest judge of 
his own conduct, so he was of that of his country. This rare 
"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 133. '"Ibid., 122. 



134) Lmcoln the Politician 

ability became a force of moment in later years. 

During the tumult of the debate on the Mexican war 
Lincoln wrote in his own rare way that Stephens, of Georgia, 
a little slim, pale-faced, consumptive man, with a voice like 
Logan's, had just concluded the very best speech of an 
hour's length he ever heard; that his old withered dry eyes 
were full of tears yet.^^ 

His appreciation knew no sectional limits. His range 
of vision was not bounded by the Mason and Dixon line. He 
was as much at home with the sons of the South as of the 
North; he took the same interest in the speech of Stephens 
of Georgia as he would in that of Webster. 

^Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 111. 



CHAPTER IX 

Lincoln's attack on slavery in congeess 

T INCOLN'S main assignment in congressional committee 
•*— ^vvork was on Post-office and Post-roads. He plodded 
through the detail duties with industry. There was no more 
earnest worker in the ranks of Congress. On an important 
occasion, Lincoln stood by the Democratic Postmaster Gen- 
eral, and opposed the policy of the Whig members of the 
Committee. He worked out a painstaking plan for certain 
postmasters receiving subscriptions for newspapers and peri- 
odicals. He declared it to be in accordance with republican 
institutions, which could be best sustained by the diffusion 
of knowledge and the due encouragement of a universal, na- 
tional spirit of inquiry and discussion of public events 
through the medium of the public press. ^ 

Lincoln prepared himself thoroughly in the logic of pro- 
tection to American industries. He advanced considerably 
in a serious understanding of its fundamental importance. 
Not satisfied with old and common contention, he sounded 
the depths of discussion, by his quaint and original method. 

He had intense sympathy for the toiler. He deemed a 
wise and just distribution of wealth a national duty. He 
pronounced that rather than production the deeper object 
of government. "And inasmuch," he said, "as most good 
things are produced by labor, it follows that all such things 
of right belong to those whose labor has produced them. 

* Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 113. 

1S5 



136 Lincoln the Politician 

But it has so happened, in all ages of the world, that some 
have labored, and others have without labor enjoyed a large 
proportion of the fruits. That is wrong, and should not 
continue. To secure to each laborer the whole product of 
his labor, or as nearly as possible, is a worthy object of 
any good government." ^ 

He was in advance of the thought of his day in insisting 
that all transportation, commerce, distribution, not essen- 
tial, was a heavy pensioner upon industry, depriving it of 
a large proportion of its just fruits. He advocated the 
remedy of driving useless toil and idleness out of existence. 
He announced that all work done directly or indirectly in 
carrying articles to the place of consumption, which could 
have been produced in sufficient abundance, with as little 
effort at the place of consumption as at the place they were 
carried from, was useless labor.^ These fragments show 
the intellectual power of a growing man of fine sympathies, 
the sound conviction of a benefactor of his kind. 

That Lincoln rapidly adapted himself to the ways of 
Congress appears from the variety of the subjects he dis- 
cussed. Few of the new comers were more in evidence. His 
speech on internal improvements reveal the secret of his 
power. He sought no name to sanction his opinions, he used 
his own illustrations and reached his conclusions unaided. He 
attacked the opinions of those high in power and station. 
President Polk maintained that the burden of improvements 
would be general while the benefits would be local, thus in- 
volving a pernicious inequality. The reply of Lincoln is 
a sign of his political wisdom. He argued that inequality 
was never to be embraced for its own sake ; but that if every 
good thing was to be discarded which might be inseparably 
connected with some degree of inequality, then all govern- 
' Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 92. ' Ibid., 93. 



Lmcoln's Attack on Slavery in Congress 137 

ment would have to be discarded. The Capitol, he continued, 
was built at the public expense, but still it was of some 
peculiar local advantage, and to make sure of all inequality 
Congress would have to hold its sessions, as the loafer lodged, 
"in spots about." He added that there were few stronger 
cases in this world of "burden to the many and benefit to the 
few," of "inequality," than the Presidency itself; that an 
honest laborer dug coal at about seventy cents a day, while 
the President dug abstractions at about Seventy Dollars a 
day, and the coal was clearly worth more than the abstrac- 
tions. He declared that the true rule, in determining 
whether to embrace or reject anything, was not whether it 
had any evil in it, but whether it had more of evil than of 
good; that almost everything, especially of government pol- 
icy, was an inseparable compound of the two; so that the 
best judgment of the preponderance between them was con- 
tinually demanded.* 

A great national party witnessed only the malign con- 
sequences of the internal improvement policy. To avoid its 
abuse, they practically advocated its abatement. Seeing only 
the danger of extravagance, the Democratic party was not 
free to contemplate prudent expenditures. Lincoln with his 
keen sight presented a solution indicative of statesman- 
ship. His plan permitted the States working in a smaller 
sphere of activity in local improvements to cross paths and 
to work together in larger national matters under the guid- 
ance of sober and restrained general legislation, based on 
statistical information. 

The keen, shrewd instinct of the politician in Lincoln 
shows through his strenuous advocacy of General Taylor as 
the Whig candidate for the Presidency. He was in the van in 
fighting opposition in Illinois to the silent soldier and un- 

* Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 126. 



138 Lincoln the Politician 

tried statesman. In April he wrote his friend Washburne 
to let nothing discourage or baffle him, but, in spite of every 
difficulty, to send a good Taylor delegate from his circuit, 
and to make Baker, who was a good hand to raise a breeze, 
to help about it.^ On the same day he admonished another 
associate in his inimitable manner. "I know our good friend 
Browning is a great admirer of Mr. Clay, and I therefore 
fear he is favoring his nomination. If he is, ask him to 
discard feeling, and try if he can possibly, as a matter of 
judgment, count the votes necessary to elect him. 

"In my judgment we can elect nobody but General Tay- 
lor; but we cannot elect him without a nomination. There- 
fore, don't fail to send a delegate." ^ 

His admiration for Clay was subdued in his zeal for politi- 
cal success. He would not do honor to the statesman as an 
idle tribute so he would put him aside and call to the leader- 
ship of the Whig party a man whose strength was largely in 
the uncertainty'^ of his views, in silence not in known sin- 
cerity. He saw its cause could triumph with Taylor; that 
the extension of the slave power was more likely to come 
from the northern non-slave-holding Cass than from the 
southern slave-holding Taylor. To still further confound 
the jumble, the Whig convention avoided annunciation of 
distinctive principles, and even dared to vote down an affirm- 
ance of the Wilmot Proviso.^ After the selection of "Old 
Rough," with Stephens, Toombs and Preston, he continued 
an aggressive interest in his candidacy.^ He again pleaded 
with his friends for support from his State. 

"By many, and often, it has been said they would not 
abide the nomination of Taylor ; but since the deed has been 
done, they are fast falling in, and in my opinion we shall 

» Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 118. 'Greeley, 1, 192. 

<'Ihid. 'Tarbell, 1, 216. 



Lmcoln's Attack on Slavery vn Congress 139 

have a most overwhelming glorious triumph. One unmis- 
takable sign is that all the odds and ends are with us — 
Barburners, Native Americans, Tyler men, disappointed 
office-seeking Locofocos, and the Lord knows what. This is 
important, if in nothing else, in showing which way the wind 
blows. Some of the sanguine men have set down all the states 
as certain for Taylor but Illinois, and it as doubtful. Can- 
not something be done even in Illinois .f* Taylor's nomination 
takes the Locos on the blind side. It turns the war thunder 
against them. The war is now to them the gallows of Haman, 
which they built for us, and upon which they are doomed to 
be hanged themselves." ® 

According to a peculiar and prevalent method in the 
House, of spending public money for personal or partisan 
purposes, Lincoln availed himself of the privilege of making 
a campaign speech. It has met with varied comment. 
Lamon freely and soberly passes this judgment. "Few like 
it have ever been heard in either of those venerable chambers. 
It is a common remark of those who know nothing of the 
subject, that Mr. Lincoln was devoid of imagination; but 
the reader of this speech will entertain a different opinion. 
It opens to us a mind fertile in images sufficiently rare and 
striking, but of somewhat questionable taste. It must have 
been heard in amazement by those gentlemen of the House 
who had never known a Hanks, or seen a New Salem." ^° 

Herndon, twenty years later, pronounced it a masterpiece 
and declared that one who would read it would lay it down 
convincd that Lincoln's ascendency for a quarter of a cen- 
tury among the political spirits in Illinois was by no means 
an accident, and would not wonder that Douglas, with all 
his forensic ability, averted, as long as he could, a contest 
with a man whose plain, analytical reasoning was not less 

"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 122. ""Lamon, 298. 



140 Lincoln the Politician 

potent than his mingled drollery and caricature were 
effective.* 

Lincoln entered on the Jia7-d job of showing that it was 
sound doctrine for the President to shun defined public opin- 
ions and allow Congress its own way without hindrance from 
the chief executive. The history of the United States has 
been a vigorous answer to this contention. As President he 
made short shrift of that policy, though his splendid state- 
ment of the Whig position may well attract more than pass- 
ing attention. He maintained that the Democrats were in 
favor of laying down in advance a platform as a unit, and 
then of forcing the people to ratify all of its provisions, 
however unpalatable some of them might be ; that the Whigs 
were in favor of making Presidential elections, and the legis- 
lation of the country distinct matters ; so that the people 
could elect whom they pleased, and afterwards legislate just 
as they pleased. The difference, he insisted, was as clear as 
noon day, and that leaving the People's business in their 
hands was the true Republican position. -^^ 

No more dramatic attack during the entire session, ar- 
raigning the Democratic candidate was made than in this 
speech for his attitude on the Wilmot resolution. "In 1846," 
says Lincoln, "General Cass was for the proviso at once; 
that in March, 1847, he was still for it, but not just then; 
and that in December, 1847, he was against it altogether. 
This is a true index to the whole man. When the question 
was raised in 1846, he was in a blustering hurry to take 
ground for it. He sought to be in advance, and to avoid the 
uninteresting position of a mere follower; but soon he began 
to see glimpses of the great Democratic ox-goad waving in 
his face, and to hear indistinctly, a voice saying, "Back! 
Back, sir ! Back a little !" He shakes his head and bats his 
* Herndon, 1, 273. " Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 139. 



Lincoln's Attack on Slavery in Congress 141 

eyes, and blunders back to his position of March, 1847 ; but 
still the goad waves, and the voice grows more distinct and 
sharper still, "Back, sir, Back, I say! Further back!" — 
and back he goes to the position of December, 1847, at which 
the goad is still, and the voice soothingly says, "So ! Stand 
at that !" * 

That Lincoln had not fully forgotten the form of utter- 
ance that angered Darbey and has bothered most biogra- 
phers since, appears in the following selection: "Like a 
horde of hungry ticks you have stuck to the tail of the 
Hermitage lion to the end of his life ; and you are still stick- 
ing to it, and drawing a loathsome sustenance from it, after 
he is dead. A fellow once advertised that he had made a 
discovery by which he could make a new man out of an old 
one, and have enough of the stuff left to make a little yellow 
dog. Just such a discovery has General Jackson's popu- 
larity been to you. You not only twice made President out 
of him out of it, but you have had enough of the stuff left 
to make Presidents of several comparatively small men since ; 
and it is your chief reliance now to make still another." ^^ 

At least it may be said that he was not the aggressor or 
the sole participant in such a "scathing and withering 
style," ^^ nor is it at all hard to find like statements and 
oratory in every period of our history. This is almost the 
last time that the historian need halt in his comment on 
the expression of Lincoln. Years of experience brought him 
to a higher conception of public utterances. When the sub- 
ject matter bade exalted expression he grew to the occasion 
with amazing avidity. 

This speech revealed Lincoln to Congress. It gained pres- 
tige among the fulminations of the session. The Baltimore 

* Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 143. "Ibid., 139. 

"Ibid., 140. 



142 Lincoln the Politician 

American named it the "crack speech of the day." It labeled 
Lincoln as a very able, acute, uncouth, honest, upright man 
and a tremendous, wag withal.^ ^ 

His reputation as a Congressman and orator, begot him 
the honorable privilege of addressing in September, the same 
audience in the east that often listened to the triumphant 
Webster. Only a faint echo of these speeches of the Illinois 
representative remains. 

A representative Boston newspaper reports him as say- 
ing that the people of Illinois agreed entirely with the people 
in Massachusetts on the slavery question, except, that they 
did not think about it as constantly ; that all agreed that 
slavery was an evil, which could not be affected in the slave 
states ; but that the question of the extensioii of slavery to 
new territories was under control. In opposition to this 
extension Lincoln believed that the self-named "Free Soil" 
party was far behind the Whigs ; that the "Free Soil" men 
in claiming that name, indirectly attempted a deception, by 
implying that Whigs were not free soil men; that in declar- 
ing that they would "do their duty and leave the conse- 
quences to God," merely gave an excuse for taking a course 
they were not able to maintain by fair argument. Making 
this declaration, he further argued, did not show what their 
duty was, that if it did there would be no use for judgment; 
that men might as well be made without intellect, and when 
divine or human law did not clearly point their duty, they 
had no means of finding out what it was by using their most 
intellectual judgment of the consequences, and that if there 
were divine law or human law for voting for Martin Van 
Buren, then he would give up the argument.^ ^ 

New England testified to its liking for the western advo- 
cate of Taylor. The Boston Advertiser stated that at the 
"Tarbell, 1, 217, '"Ibid., 2, 297-298. 



I 



Lincoln's Attack on Slavery in Congress 143 

close of his masterly speech, the audience gave three enthusi- 
astic cheers for Illinois, and three more for the eloquent 
Whig member from that state. ^^ His Boston speech was so 
effective "that several Whigs who had gone off on the 'Free 
Soil' fizzle returned again to the Whig ranks." ^^ 

Ida Tarbell contends that at this time Lincoln first ex- 
perienced the full meaning of the "Free Soil" sentiment, 
as Massachusetts was then quivering under the impas- 
sioned protests of the great Abolitionists, and Sumner 
was beginning to devote his life to freedom and was speak- 
ing often at riotous meetings. Miss Tarbell further main- 
tains Lincoln was sensitive to every shade of popular feeling 
in New England, and was stirred as never before on the 
question of slavery ; that he heard Seward's speech in Tre- 
mont Temple, and that night, as the two men sat talking, 
said gravely to the great anti-slavery advocate: 

"Governor Seward, I have been thinking about what you 
said in your speech. I reckon you are right. We have got 
to deal with this slavery question, and got to give much 
more attention to it hereafter than we have been doing." ^^ 

This evidence does not prove that Lincoln then began to 
take radical ground on the slavery question. Ten years be- 
fore in the Illinois Legislature, he made his protest, and 
later at every opportunity when circumstances favored. His 
hatred to slavery had long been kindled. He needed little 
inspiration from the New York orator on New England soil 
to start his indignation. His statement to Seward shows 
that he was ready for radical conduct as soon as the event 
permitted the onslaught. He rejoiced at the growth of the 
public opinion that betokened the doom of the artificial 
institution. But he did not need to sit at the feet of eastern 
teachers. The New England trip was an incident, not an 

"Tar))ell, 2, 299. ^^ Ibid., 1, 128. ^Ihid., 224. 



144 Lincoln the Politician 

epoch in his career. 

The second session of this Congress was rather free from 
turbulence. Lincoln was a silent spectator. He went with 
his party on the main issues and voted for the Wilmot Pro- 
viso "about 42 times." ^^ The Northern Democrats in the 
House returned in a resentful spirit at the support rendered 
Taylor by eight slave states. They were not backward in 
supporting legislation to exclude slavery from California 
and New Mexico. ^^ The Senate, true to its love of vested 
interests speedily disposed of the proposal. 

During the session a New York representative let loose a 
resolution with the clanging preamble of a "law rooting out 
the slave trade in the District of Columbia." "^ Lincoln was 
one of three or four northern Whigs who voted to lay this 
exuberant measure on the table.^^ 

As the sole Whig representative of his State, coming from 
a constituency hardly distinguished for its anti-slavery sen- 
timents, while most Whigs even from the New England states 
were silent ; no external duty beckoned him ; no powerful or- 
ganization called him to ride the storm by branding the 
jealous institution. Selfish ambition whispered prudence and 
calmed the voice of protest. 

But within the very shade of the Capitol, the slave girl 

was coined into drachmas. He felt the world shame that had 

come upon the nation by this blot on its professions. The 

desire to strike another blow grew strong in him. As he 

tried a decade before in the legislative halls of Illinois, so 

now in the national assembly, in a very home of slavery, he 

rang forth his hate of the old injustice. Still he did not give 

way to an outburst of vengeance; he husbanded his anger; 

thought only of the consequence, planned with wisdom the 

" Lamon, 309. ^ Ibid., 286. 

^"Nicolay & Hay, 1, 283-284. "Lamon, 308. 



Lincoln* s AttacJe on Slavery in Congress 145 

most effective stab at the national disgrace. 

The politician walked hand in hand with the patriot. He 
gathered discordant elements to the support of a common 
cause calling forth admiration at the unrivalled policy. H^ 
consecrated to the high purpose of dedicating the national 
Capitol to a free citizenship, a devotion and sagacity that 
made him the peer of any strategist of his day. He con- 
ceived and carried out a daring plan of securing the support 
to his astounding proposal of the Mayor of Washington, a 
representative of the intelligent slave-holding citizens of that 
community. With equal skill, he secured the reinforcement 
of the radical Giddings, who says in his diary that Lincoln's 
bill to abolish slavery was approved by all ; that he believed 
it as good a bill as we could get at this time, and was willing 
to pay for slaves in order to save them from the southern 
market, as he supposed every man in the District would sell 
his slaves if he saw that slavery was to be abolished. ^^ 
Lincoln held together two such leaders in advocacy of the 
same measure affecting the sore subject, thus revealing the 
supreme tactician, who in later years held to the public 
service a Seward, a Stanton and a Chase in the same cabinet. 

He persuaded the slave holder that it was wiser to adopt 
his measure than in later years confront the danger of more 
exacting legislation. He convinced the Abolitionists that 
his law was the best then attainable. His alarming propo- 
sition was as innocent in expression as patience and wisdom 
could make it. It provided for the ultimate emancipation of 
all slaves born after 1850 and the manumission of existing 
slaves on full payment to willing owners. After soberly pro- 
viding for the return of all fugitive slaves the whole plan 
was made dependent upon the approval of a popular vote.^^ 

The slaveholders were more illiberal than the Abolitionists. 

'* Nicolay & Hay, 1, 286-287. " Ibid., 287. 



146 Lmcoln the Politician 

They spurned all compromise. They would admit no sug- 
gestion that laid bare the injustice of their institution. They 
knew that when an inroad was once made, its days would be 
numbered ; that compromise was the dawn of the end. They 
brought all their power into being. The social influences of 
Wasliington were called into polite requisition and the 
Mayor, under this duress, withdrew his sanction. ^^ The 
biographers, who knew Lincoln in the days of trial, have 
given expression to a splendid tribute to his constancy. 
"Fifteen years afterwards, in the stress and tempest of a 
terrible war, it was Mr. Lincoln's strange fortune to sign a 
biU sent him by Congress for the abolition of slavery in 
Washington; and perhaps the most remarkable thing about 
the whole transaction was that while we were looking po- 
litically upon a new heaven and a new earth, — for the vast 
change in our moral and economical condition might justify 
so audacious a phrase, — when there was scarcely a man 
on the continent who had not greatly shifted his point of 
view in a dozen years, there was so little change in Mr. 
Lincoln. The same hatred of slavery, the same sympathy 
with the slave, the same consideration for the slaveholder as 
the victim of a system he had inherited, the same sense of 
divided responsibility between the South and the North, the 
same desire to effect great reforms with as little individual 
damage and injury, as little disturbance of social conditions 
as possible, were equally evident when the raw pioneer signed 
the protest with Dan Stone of Vandalia, when the mature 
man moved the resolution of 1849 in the Capitol and when 
the President gave the sanction of his bold signature of the 
act which swept away the slave shambles from the City of 
Washington." ~^ 

He warred against slavery not the slave holder. He took 

^ Nicolay & Hay, 1, 287-288. ="" Ibid., 288. 



I 



I 



Lincoln's Attack on Slavery in Congress 147 

full account of the conditions leading to the ownership of 
human property. He realized that it was a legacy of a 
former age, that it was not a product of present and indi- 
vidual responsibility, that it was a national fault not a 
private one, that the slave holder was the victim of the 
system not the cause. So he would not have the change 
come with a rush lest it might not be abiding. He was 
willing to wait. Lincoln knew that progress is a slow and 
labored process and that haste is often the companion of 
reaction. He would awaken no just and general resentment, 
a resentment that still lingers in the hearts of men from a 
war-won emancipation. It would have been well for the 
North and South had this measure of gradual compensated 
emancipation have become the settled policy of the nation. 
The most cankerous conflict of the age might have been 
spared and the problems resulting therefrom less perplexing. 
Like a wise surgeon, he dared an early operation rather than 
delay the necessity of a more drastic remedy. When 
passion forged to the front as the guide, when North and 
South had ample occasion to dwell on mutual wrongs, when 
the Constitution of the Union ceased to be the prevailing 
measure of the individual and general welfare, the days of 
peace were being numbered. Lincoln realized that compro- 
mise is only available when wisely adapted to opposing forces 
at the fitting time. 

Thus, there stood forth in Congress a man who subdued 
his passion for the Declaration of Independence and yet who 
was not willing that the down-trodden should eternally re- 
main in the darkness of vicarious government. He knew 
that slavery could not always dwell in the seat of govern- 
ment, that the time would come when there would be no 
human chattel on American soil. Still, Lincoln did not shift 
to others the whole burden of bringing the day to pass, but 



148 Lincoln the Politician 

took his stand against the iniquity of human bondage with 
sublime wisdom. He tempered but did not dull his sense of 
justice. He struck a second blow at the national evil, a 
sign that he still was true to his vow at New Orleans and 
his protest at Vandalia. 

Like other legislators, Lincoln was obliged to deal with 
the issue of handing out offices as party spoil. Trade and 
industry were still in their infancy and had not yet begun 
to attract the activity of the aspiring. The highway to 
general distinction and to honor was largely that of public 
office. Hence, there ensued, in the words of Lincoln, a 
"wriggle and struggle for office" and an effort to find "a way 
to live without work." ^^ 

The attitude of Lincoln in days when the Jackson theory 
was in its full vigor is noteworthy. As the sole Whig rep- 
resentative, beside Colonel Baker, Lincoln asked, in 1849, 
to be heard on all appointments in Illinois. His remark- 
able action is seen in the following letter: "Mr. Bond I 
know to be personally every way worthy of the office; and 
he is very numerously and most respectably recommended. 
His papers I send to you; and I solicit for his claims a full 
and fair consideration. Having said this much, I add that 
in my individual judgment the appointment of Mr. Thomas 
would be better. ... I add that from personal knowledge 
I consider Mr. Bond every way worthy of the office, and 
quahfied to fill it. Holding the individual opinion that the 
appointment of a different gentleman would be better, I ask 
especial attention and consideration for his claim, and for 
the opinions expressed in his favor by those over whom I can 
claim no superiority." ^^ As Congressman he selected a 
postman of a village with the same precision that he later 
did a war minister. 

" Herndon, 1, 279. * Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 151-152. 



Lincoln^ s Attack' on Slavery in Congress 149 

The activity of Lincoln in securing the nomination and 
election of Taylor commanded the regard of some leading 
politicians. They advised his candidacy for the General 
Land Office. Lincoln was poorly equipped to seek the favor 
of those dispensing patronage. He was not gifted with 
assiduity or forwardness so often essential to bearing away 
the palm. Seldom has a hunter for alluring official service 
so gently put obstacles in the way of his success. Though 
it is claimed he was even eager for the prize, he was careful 
to a nicety, to avoid a false position, while others were bend- 
ing every effort and using every means at their disposal. 

To several friends he wrote the following unique letter: 
"Some months since I gave my word to secure the appoint- 
ment to that office of Mr. Cyrus Edwards, if in my power, 
in a case of a vacancy ; and more recently I stipulated with 
Colonel Baker that if Mr. Edwards and Colonel J, L. D. 
Morrison could arrange with each other for one of them to 
withdraw, we would jointly recommend the other. In rela- 
tion to these pledges, I must not only be chaste, but above 
suspicion. If the office shall be tendered to me, I must be 
permitted to say: 'Give it to Mr. Edwards, or if so agreed 
by them, to Colonel Morrison, and I decline it ; if not, I 
accept.' With this understanding you are at hberty to 
procure me the offer of the appointment if you can ; and I 
shall feel complimented by your effort, and still more by its 
success. "^^ 

But even his patience gave way when Justin Butterfeld, 
a late opponent of Taylor, was considered for the place. 
He burst forth with the statement that if anything should 
be given to the State, it should be so given as to gratify 
friends, and to stimulate them to future exertions, and that 
it would mortify him deeply if General Taylor's administra- 

* Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 153-154. 



150 Lmcoln the Politician 

tion should trample all his wishes in the dust merely to 
gratify friends of Clay.^^ 

It was not surprising that the laggard procedure of 
Lincoln lost him this place. Political offices, like opportu- 
nity, do not wait long. And so it came to pass that the 
former opponent of the President was selected in the place 
of one who was his earnest advocate from the beginning. 
Though not backward in his claim for an elective office, he 
was still little inclined to play the servile part in an ap- 
pointive position. He was willing enough to submit to the 
democratic judgment of his fellow men when he was given a 
public opportunity to present his claim, but he timidly shrank 
from a personal solicitation of a Presidential favor. 

His final letter on the history of this affair is rather 
tinged with another sorrow. Mr. Edwards being offended 
with him, he wrote that the better part of one's life con- 
sisted of his friendships ; that at a word he could have had 
the office any time before the Department was committed 
to Mr. Butterfield ; and that word he forbore to speak 
chiefly for Mr. Edwards' sake, — losing the office that he 
might gain it, and that to lose his friendship, by the effort 
for him would oppress him very much, were he not sustained 
by the utmost consciousness of rectitude.^^ 

The selection of Butterfield for the General Land Office 
did not shake the efforts of the friends of Lincoln to secure 
recognition of his valiant services in the Whig ranks. He 
was tendered the governorship of Oregon by Fillmore. The 
new land held forth enticing political promises, it was soon 
to become a state and a senatorship was a fair prospect. 
Close associates advised acceptance. Lamon says that Lin- 
coln saw it all, and would have accepted "if his wife con- 
sented," but she refused to do so; and that time has shown 
=" Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 155. =' Turbell, 2, 300-301. 



Lincoln's Attack on Slavery m Congress 151 

that she was right. ^" What part Lincobi would have 
played in history if he had become a senator from Ore- 
gon may be interesting but none the less vain specula- 
tion. If the Lincoln and Douglas debates had been shifted 
from the prairies of Illinois to the national arena at Wash- 
ington, who can say that Lincoln and Douglas might not 
have become rivals for the Presidency.'' It has been quite 
the fashion to assume that the Senate would have been de- 
structive to the future of Lincoln, overlooking the plain 
fact that the National Assembly was the home of the re- 
nown of Douglas and his ladder to the Presidential nomina- 
tion. Lincoln was not spoiled by the highest office in the 
land and there is no surety that the senate would have 
proved the grave of his career. 

Two scant years of Congressional life worked a change in 
the politician from Illinois. He had come in a subdued mood 
to mingle in national affairs. Shrinkingly, he measured his 
humble equipment with that of illustrious legislators in 
Washington. While he left a respectable, but not an emi- 
nent record of achievement, he departed with a store of con- 
fidence in his worth. His intimate association with northern, 
and southern leaders, his sure, inner knowledge of national 
legislative methods, his insight into the uncompromising char- 
acter of the slavery controversy were not wasted in the part 
he was soon to play in events that would shake the very 
foundation of the nation. 

Still, he returned to Springfield unhonored. In the opin- 
ion of his constituency', he made a series of blunders. His 
attitude on the war lost the district to the Whig party. His 
"Spot Resolutions" had become a by-word in the community, 
they were liberally satired in song and story. The political 
career of Lincoln had seemingly come to an inglorious con- 
clusion. 
**Lamon, 334, 



CHAPTER X 



THE SCHOOL OF SOLITUDE 



UPON his return from Washington, Abraham Lincoln 
attended to a growing legal practice. He apparently 
lost his interest in communal matters, having tasted the 
allurements and bitterness of public service. He had largely 
outgrown the passion for ordinary official distinction. He 
was ready to go back to the circuit with its hardships and 
rudeness. To win renown as a lawyer now seemed his sole 
ambition. 

Still as the compromise measures of 1850 ended another 
national crisis, he readily renewed his interest in the march 
of events. A loyal Whig, still, he acceded to the Clay and 
Webster solution of the perturbed political conditions with 
some misgiving. He poorly tolerated the burdens added to 
the yoke of the fugitive slave — the premium placed upon 
bondage rather than freedom. During this stormy period 
of general controversy, in his lonely way he settled the main 
issue. A story told by a close friend is significant of the 
seriousness of the struggle. As they were coming down a 
hill, Herndon said to Lincoln that the time was coming when 
they should all have to be either Abolitionists or Democrats. 
Lincoln thought a moment and then answered ruefully that 
when that time came his mind would be made up, for he be- 
lieved the slavery question could never be successfully com- 
promised.^ 

^ Herndon, 2, 31. 

159 



The School of Solitude 163 

Though zealous for action, for a time, he was in the gloom 
of despair. Most men were lost in their own affairs. The 
furtive Abolitionist raised his voice as in a wilderness. The 
busy world took mean note of the cry of anguished slave. 
About this time Herndon states that Lincoln was speculating 
with him about the deadness of things, and deeply regretted 
that his human strength was limited by his nature to rouse 
the world, and despairingly exclaimed that it was hard to 
die and to leave one's country no better than if one had 
never lived for it.^ Here is again communion with the soul 
whose thoughts were of the despised and the lowly. To 
Lamon and other men who cannot rise to kinship with him 
in such an hour, he must forever remain a mystery. It is 
for this reason that some who were near him seldom com- 
prehended the extensiveness of his sympathy, seldom knew 
the divinity of his hopes, and his surpassing love of kind. 

Lincoln was a stumbling student in the domain of eulogy. 
His mind scorned fanciful statement. He was no hero wor- 
shipper. Washington, alone, remained the shrine of his 
homage. He mastered indiscriminate devotion to person in 
his loyalty to principle. For this reason, to many, he seemed 
impassive and self centered. It is strange that the man so 
little prone to adulation should, himself, be the recipient of 
almost universal adoration. So his address in 1852 on the 
death of Clay shows little of the devotional element. Even 
in the shadow of the grave of the great Compromiser, there 
is no chant of an admiring friend — no speech leaping from 
the heart. Lincoln himself felt its limitations.^ In this 
address, he called attention to the striking fact that Clay 
never spoke merely to be heard, that his eloquence was 
always directed to practical action. 

It is only when Lincoln approached the discussion of the 

'Lamon, 335. 'Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 171. 



154 Lincoln the Politician 

slavery question that he ceased commonplace commendation. 
He gave much time to that issue. That he brooded over the 
solemn statement of the patriots of the Republic is shown 
in his use of the far-famed utterance of Jefferson: "I had 
for a long time ceased to read newspapers or to pay any 
attention to public affairs, confident that they were in good 
hands and content to be a passenger in our bark to the 
shore from which I am not distant. But this momentous 
question, like a fire-bell in the night, awakened and filled me 
with terror. I considered it at once as the knell of the Union. 
It is hushed, indeed, for a moment. But this is a reprieve 
only, not a final sentence. A geographical line coinciding 
with a marked principle, moral and political, once conceived 
and held up to the angry passions of men, will never be ob- 
literated, and every irritation will mark it deeper and 
deeper." * 

He likewise dwelt on the exulting protest of Clay against 
the enemies of liberty and ultimate emancipation, who would 
go back to the era of our liberty and independence and 
muzzle the cannon which thunders its annual joyous return, 
who would blow out the moral light and penetrate the human 
soul, and eradicate the light of reason and the love of 
liberty.^ 

We learn something of the trend of his thoughts in his 
discussion of the colonization proposal of Clay that there 
was a moral fitness in the idea of returning to Africa her 
children, whose ancestors had been torn from her by the 
ruthless hand of fraud and violence, who, transplanted in a 
foreign land, would carry back to their native soil the 
rich fruits of religion, civilization, law and liberty. Lincoln 
passes this benediction on the plan : "May it indeed be real- 
ized. Pharaoh's country was cursed with plagues, and his 
* Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 173. ^ Ibid., 175, 



The School of Solitude 165 

hosts were lost in the Red Sea, for striving to retain a cap- 
tive people who had already served them more than four 
hundred years. May like disasters never befall us ! If, as 
the friends of colonization hope, the present and coming gen- 
erations of our countrymen shall by any means succeed in 
freeing our land from the dangerous presence of slavery, and 
at the same time in restoring a captive people to their long- 
lost fatherland with bright prospects for the future, and this 
too so gradually that neither races nor individuals shall have 
suffered by the change, it will indeed be a glorious con- 
summation." ^ 

Lincoln was seeking no temporary expedient. He saw 
that abolitionism was only a step in the problem, that beyond 
freedom was the greater question that still terrifies the Union. 
Statesmanlike, he was not willing merely to trifle with the 
casual remedy. Like Clay, he would have put an end to the 
baffling issue by an operation titanic in contemplation and 
astounding in sweep. So this eulogy on Clay is largely a 
discussion of a looming problem of his time, a safe sign that 
he was awake to the gathering storm. 

The campaign of 1852 was colorless. Both parties were 
arrayed on the side maintaining the sacredness of the Com- 
promise Measures. All slavery agitation was severely depre- 
cated. While the South feared and shunned the triumph of 
the Whig party, there was still scant surface appearance of 
a sectional contest. There was little in the issues involved 
to awaken moral vitality. Lincoln took no glowing part in 
the electoral contest. Lamon declares that his speeches dur- 
ing the campaign were coarse, strained in humor, petulant, 
unworthy of the orator, and pei'^^asive with jealousy at the 
success of his rival — Douglas.^ 

Though Lincoln was sure from the first, of the sin of 

•Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 176. ''Lamon, 341, 



156 Lincoln the Politician 

slavery, still, even at this period, he continued in conduct 
with slow paced movement as if half afraid of being ahead 
of the sweep of events. Herndon aided in helping him keep 
abreast with advanced abolition literature, and sought to 
win him to a championship of the radical school. Like 
Washington, he marked out his own path. Neither friend 
nor foe could swerve him, hasten or check his advance. 
Broad-minded, open to appeal, no man was less influenceable 
in final judgment. Herndon's weighty statement confirms 
this distinctiveness of Lincoln's individuality. "I was never 
conscious of having made this impression on Mr. Lincoln, 
nor do I believe I ever changed his views. I will go further 
and say, that, from the profound nature of his conclusions 
and the labored method by which he arrived at them, no 
man is entitled to the credit of having either changed or 
greatly modified them." ^ 

At first, he began in his office in plain speech to comment 
upon the virulent contest between freedom and slavery, con- 
tending that delay was intensifying the ultimate clash, that 
like two wild beasts in sight of each other, but chained and 
held apart, the deadly antagonists would some day break 
their bonds, and then the question would be settled.^ 

He spoke bitterly of the attitude of the judiciary, the 
men who should have been in the very front of the fight; 
who seemed more zealous of the right of property than that 
of personal liberty. He said that it was singular that the 
Courts would hold that a man never lost his right to his 
property that has been stolen from him, but that he instantly 
lost his right to himself if he was stolen.^*' Thus his mind 
moved faster than public sentiment, and thus he became 
prepared for decisive action before the culminating Kansas 
and Nebraska affair threw the North into connnotion. He 
» Herndon, 2, 32. "Ibid., 35. "/bid., 36 



The School of Solitude 157 

seemed the barometer of the national conscience, and though 
his slow progress appeared painful to the radical yet it was 
genuine and far more remorseless than immature reform. 
When the conservative mind of Lincoln was stirred to action, 
it was a definite sign of progress. He saw that the steady 
march of slavery was slowly perverting the very principles 
of democracy, that it was a challenge to the integrity of the 
republic, that sooner or later it would subvert the govern- 
ment or be subverted by the government. 

He noted that there were about six hundred thousand 
men non-slaveholding whites in Kentucky to about thirty- 
three thousand slave holders ; that when a convention recently 
assembled, there was not a single representative of the non- 
slaveholding class. He told a friend that the thing was 
spreading like wildfire over the country and that in a few 
years Illinois would be ready to accept the institution. 
AVhen asked to what he attributed the change that was going 
on in public opinion, he said that he had put that ques- 
tion to a Kentuckian shortly before, who answered by saying 
that one might have any amount of land, money or bank- 
stock, and while travelling around, nobody would be wiser ; 
but, if one had a darky trudging at his heels, everybody 
would see him, and know that he owned a slave; that if a 
3'oung man went courting, the only inquiry was, how many 
negroes he or she owned. He added, that the love for slave 
property was swallowing up every other mercenary posses- 
sion; that its ownership betokened, not only the possession 
of wealth, but indicated the gentleman of leisure, who was 
above and scorned labor.^^ 

It has been a historical fashion to brand Douglas as the 
author of all the ills that came in the course of the Kansas- 
Nebraska agitation. He has suffered more than any other 

" Lamon, 347. 



158 Lincoln the Politician 

northern leader for participation therein. He did not in- 
augurate; he reluctantly adopted radical action to main- 
tain his leadership in the Democratic party. The abolition- 
ists were growing more resolute and exacting in their de- 
mands, startling the northern conscience. No compromise 
could still their protests ; they would not tolerate constitu- 
tional obligations that stood in the way of immediate emanci- 
pation. At the South, the slave dynasty was daily growing 
more restless under the real or assumed danger from northern 
agitation. New enactments were deemed indispensable, as if 
legislation could stay the rising tide of sentiment against 
the return of fugitive slaves. The South was, under the edu- 
cational tutelage of Calhoun, prepared to demand the right 
to carry slaves throughout every inch of the national terri- 
tory without restraint from Congress. 

Compromise could delay but not settle such a contest. 
When moral instincts were aroused on one side and fear on 
the other, the inevitable clash could not be permanently 
avoided. Dixon of Kentucky, through his far-reaching state- 
ment upon the question of slavery he knew no "Whiggery" 
and no Democracy,^" decisively noted the new era in Ameri- 
can politics, and showed the desperate chasm that daily grew 
more divisive, not to be covered over until the blood of a 
million men was offered up as a sacrifice to the most mo- 
mentous martyrdom in history. Atchison of Missouri, who 
declared he would sacrifice everything but his hope of heaven 
for slavery,^ ^ was anxious for the place of Douglas that he 
might champion the legislation that would secure the repeal 
of the Missouri Compromise. To gain this position, he would 
relinquish his distinction as Acting President pro tem of 
the Senate. 

For twenty years, Douglas had fought in the party ranks 
" Greeley, 1, 229. " Nicolay & Hay, 1, 346. 



The School of Solitude 159 

until he stood fair to become its leader. He had either to 
become champion of the new policy, or as he saw it, to sac- 
rifice the work of a lifetime. In the party councils he con- 
tested the wisdom of the policy and eloquently portrayed its 
far-reaching consequences. He loved his country but not all 
of his kind. Patriot but not humanitarian, he would not 
peer beliind the curtain of a clashing North and South. The 
nature of the bitter conflict through which Douglas passed 
before he submitted to the southern policy, appears from 
his counsel to a young student and friend never to go into 
politics ; that if he did, no matter how clear it might be to him 
that the present was an inheritance from the past, no mat- 
ter how conscientiously he might feel that his hands were 
tied, with loyalty to ancient institutions rather than what 
he might prefer to do if free to choose, still he would be 
vilified, traduced, and finally sacrificed to some local interest 
or unreasoning passion like Adams, Webster and Clay. He 
continued that he was surprised that the proposal to repeal 
came from the South and dreaded the effect, and said so ; 
still for nearly twenty years he had fought for a place 
among the leaders of the party which seemed to him most 
likely to promote the prosperity of his country, and had 
won it. . . . If he retained his leadership, he argued that 
he might help to guide the party aright in some graver crisis, 
and if he threw it away, he not only destroyed himself, but 
he became powerless for good forever after. 

He then impetuously contended that an individual ought 
not to oppose his judgment to that of a great party, and 
besides though surprised at its source, he believed that the 
repeal would work to the advancement of freedom rather 
than otherwise, as his vilifiers charged. He finally pleaded 
that he was politically right in keeping within the pale of 
the Constitution ; and right as to the moral effect, and right 



160 Lmcoln the Politician 

as a party leader anxious to help in keeping his party true 
to the whole country.-^* Thus Douglas made his way to the 
sons of the South and became the father of the Nebraska 
controversy and of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. 

Douglas had not trained himself in the school of political 
defeat and hesitated to forego his prestige of leadership. 
To gain the South, he risked his hold on the North. Had he 
had the courage to dare, the wisdom to know, the moral hero- 
ism to do, he might have become the foremost personality 
in American politics, honoring instead of shadowing the his- 
tory of liis time. In a solemn moment he took counsel of his 
fears rather than his integrity, and doubted the triumph of 
the one cause that has revolutionized history. With all his 
political sagacity, he lacked the supreme instinct that tran- 
scends the shrewdness of the day and links itself to the final 
triumphing movement. 

During the spring and summer of 1854 when the whole 
North quivered with the hurrying march of events following 
the Nebraska agitation, and thundered its protests into 
Washington, Lincoln grew to the demands of the hour with 
his wonted sureness. He turned over and over the whole 
issue. He did not halt at the injustice of the repeal of the 
Missouri Compromise, but went beyond its consideration to 
the problems of the age, of which that act was only a grave 
symptom. 

Now and then in small meetings, he spoke out of the full- 
ness of his feelings. His friends scanned a strange change. 
Coming to listen to his quaint stories, they returned, exalted 
by hearing a speaker who raised the controversy above the 
shifting events of the hour to the broad tableland where 
right and wrong meet on the field of battle. They beheld a 
man who lifted the discussion into the pure realms of eternal 
"Illinois State Historical Society, IV. 49. 



The School of Solitude 161 

justice, above all questions of policy, into the arena of the 
higher humanity. Prejudices of a lifetime trembled in the 
balance. Men were baptised with a new political faith. 
They instinctively turned to the master and yielded, to the 
power of a personality speaking in the name of immortal 
righteousness. He was no longer in his former haunts, the 
tavern or the grocery. He was seen "mousing" around 
libraries. He was communing with the Fathers of the Re- 
public, seeking wisdom from them. 

These five years following his Congressional experience 
are noteworthy in his life, though scantily known. Now 
and then a chance remark, the eulogy on Clay, a letter to a 
friend, reveal a strong man struggling with a giant problem. 
During all this time, he was thinking out the portentous 
question that was agitating a tempest. The greatest con- 
tests of the world are not fought on the battlefield, in the 
presence of vast armies, when the drum beats or the bugle 
calls to action. The sublimest battles in history are waged 
in the lonely soul. There, the destiny of nations is deter- 
mined before its formal expression in legislative discussion, 
judicial decision or national controversy. 

The grasping disposition of slavery convinced Lincoln 
that the encounter was inevitable. Before the formation of 
the Republican party, he sanctioned the statement that the 
time was approaching when it would be necessary to take a 
determined stand either for or against slavery. During this 
period, he waited and bided his time ; all these years he saw 
with joy, clouded with occasional despair, the day approach- 
ing when another blow could be struck for freedom, for the 
principles of the fathers and for the spreading of democratic 
influence. These were splendid years of preparation. 



CHAPTER XI 



AN EMANCIPATED POLITICIAN 



THE indignation that rushed through IlHnois when the 
first news from the Capitol forecast the repeal of the 
Missouri Compromise had not yet abated, when Douglas 
dauntlessly sought to explain his course of conduct in Chi- 
cago. He was howled down and denied liberty of speech. 
This naturally brought on a reaction. The contention that 
the distinguished senator had been struck before being heard, 
added martyrdom to his bold conduct. 

As he wandered down the State closer to the home of 
ardent democracy, he was met with growing enthusiasm. His 
ingenious sophistry turned popular sovereignty into a seem- 
ing contest for a principle and Illinois was being carried 
away by his triumphant oratory and logic. There is little 
wonder that the man who breasted the storm of debate in 
the Senate should make headway in the land of his friends 
where office holders and supporters gloried in his fame and 
were elated when he chanted forth his alluring doctrine as a 
solution to political conditions. 

His main effort was made at the State Fair in October, 
1854, an occasion that called together the intelligence of 
Illinois in days when few occasions permitted the satisfac- 
tion of social life. Enhancing its importance, this political 
gathering was to mark the opening of the campaign to deter- 
mine the selection of a Senator. The speech of Douglas was 
to be almost a national event. Upon him the hopes of the 

162 



An Emancipated Politician 163 

State democracy centered in tlie conditions following the late 
political tempest. Douglas was equal to the occasion and 
his friends rejoiced. 

Lincoln had made such a profound impression at the time 
among the Whig orators, that he was chosen to bear the 
brunt of the reply to tlie '"State Fair Speech" of the wily 
leader of the Democratic party. Lincoln surpassed every 
expectation. Neither side was prepared for the terrible on- 
slaught. A new and dauntless advocate appeared giving 
power to the gathering protesting elements against the ag- 
gressive championship of Douglas. Herndon, himself, was 
thoroughly amazed, and tells us that the speaker quivered 
with emotion, that he felt upon his soul the truths burn 
which he uttered, that crushing with his logic the Nebraska 
bill he rent it into shreds and held it up to the scorn and the 
mockery of the crowds, that he took the heart captive 
and broke like a sun over the understanding.^ In his 
reply Douglas was excited, and his voice loud and shrill. 
Lamon relates that shaking his forefinger at the democratic 
malcontents, and declaiming rather than debating, he occu- 
pied to little purpose the brief interval remaining until the 
adjournment for supper; that then, promising to resume his 
address in the evening, he went his way, and evening came 
but not the orator.^ 

While Lincoln was moving in the moral realm, still, at 
this very time, note must be taken of the politician in the 
valley. The enthusiasm that followed his baptismal oration 
had not calmed when Lovejo}' announced a gathering that 
evening of the friends of freedom. The Nebraska move- 
ment fed the Abolitionists with abounding faith in a speedy 
triumph. With a rising sense of their strength, fairly 
"snuffing" the coming victory they looked for, Love joy and 
^ Herndon, 2, 37-8. ' Lamon, 349-350. 



164 Lincoln the Politician 

his associates hastened to command Lincoln's attendance at 
their meeting. Herndon vividly describes the occasion, say- 
ing that their plan was to induce Lincoln to speak for them, 
yet he doubted the propriety of Lincoln's taking any stand 
yet. Lincoln was ambitious to climb to the United States 
Senate, and on grounds of policy it would not do for him 
to occupy at that time such advance ground as they were 
taking. On the other hand, it was equally dangerous to 
refuse a speech for the Abolitionists. Herndon then hunted 
up Lincoln and urged him to avoid meeting the enthusiastic 
champion of Abolitionism. "Go home at once," he said. 
"Take Bob with you and drive somewhere into the country 
and stay till this thing is over." Lincoln under the pre- 
tense of having business in Tazewell County drove out of 
town in his buggy, and did not return until the apostles of 
Abolitionism had gone to their homes. Herndon believes 
that this arrangement saved Lincoln, for if he had endorsed 
the resolutions passed at the meeting, or spoken simply in 
favor of freedom that night, he would have been identified 
with all the rancor and extremes of Abolitionism, and if, 
on the contrary, he refused to take a position as advanced 
as theirs, he would have lost their support.^ 

Another incident told by the same writer makes it neces- 
sary ever to keep track of Lincoln, the wary politician : 
"One day I read in the Richmond Enquirer an article en- 
dorsing slavery, and arguing that from principle the enslave- 
ment of either whites or blacks was justifiable and right. I 
showed it to Lincoln, who remarked that it was 'rather rank 
doctrine for northern Democrats to endorse. I should like 
to see,' he said, with emphasis 'some of these Illinois news- 
papers champion that.' I told him if he would only wait and 
keep his own counsel I would have a pro-slavery organ in 
» Herndon, 2, 40-41. 



An Emancipated Politician 166 

Springfield publish that very article. He doubted it, but 
when I told him how it was to be done, he laughed and said, 
'Go in.' I cut the slip out and succeeded in getting it in 
the paper named. Of course it was a trick but it acted 
admirably. Its appearance in the new organ, although with- 
out comment, almost ruined that valuable journal, and my 
good natured friend the editor was nearly overcome by the 
denunciation of those who were responsible for the organ's 
existence. My connection and Lincoln's too, — for he en- 
dorsed the trick, — with the publication of the condemned 
article was eventually discovered, and we were thereafter 
effectually prevented from getting another line in the paper. 
The anti-slavery people quoted the article as having been 
endorsed by a democratic newspaper in Springfield and Lin- 
coln himself used it with telling effect. He joined in the 
popular denunciation, expressing great astonishment that 
such a sentiment could find lodgment in any paper in Illinois, 
although he knew full well how the whole thing had been 
carried through." * 

Lincoln was alive to the best methods of persuasion. He 
knew that men were the children of emotion and that while 
many would be calloused to the slavery of the black man, 
nothing would arouse the North quicker than this doctrine 
of the bondage of the white man. While slavery was making 
every effort to fasten its fangs on the nation, Lincoln was 
not averse to take advantage of a shrewd move to strike 
heavy blows at the potent institution. 

He entered deeply into the contest. Lincoln knew that 
it involved the painful rending of party allegiance. His 
letter to Palmer sheds light on the intensity of the struggle, 
the heroism of the democratic minority whose loyalty to 
country and righteousness surpassed a deep-seated partisan- 
* Herndon, 2, 39-40. 



166 Lvncoln the Politician 

ship : "You are," he said, "and always have been, honestly 
and sincerely a Democrat; and I know how painful it must 
be to an honest sincere man to be urged by his party to the 
support of a measure, which in his conscience he believes to be 
wrong. You have had a severe struggle with yourself, and 
you have determined not to swallow the wrong. Is it just 
to yourself that you should, in a few public speeches, state 
your reasons, and thus justify yourself? I wish you could; 
and yet I say, 'Don't do it if you think it will injure you.' " ^ 

Lincoln recognized that political progress is not alone the 
result of intellectual supremacy ; that it is a painful struggle ; 
that policy must be mingled with principle; that the world 
does not welcome the unadulterated gospel ; that through the 
centuries, humanity has groped its way to the far light 
with eyes blinded by the superstition of ages and selfishness. 

The moral prophet is seldom the political leader of his 
time. He stands above his age. The politician is part of it. 
One sees things as they should be, the other as they are. 
One is splendidly indifferent to results, the other keenly ap- 
preciative of them. Lincoln made no false step. Had he 
walked too fast for his day he might have been the Garrison 
of the West, but not the party guide. With sure instinct 
he felt that the time was not ripe for companionship with 
the Abolitionists. Illinois was not ready. If he was to con- 
tinue his hold on public sentiment, to guide it, he could not 
flash the truth before the gaze of humanity. Despite the 
suffering of martyrs, the heroism of statesmen, the sacrifices 
of seekers of the truth, wrong was still "upon the throne," 
and "truth upon the scaffold," the world was not slow in 
crucifying its heroes of speech and deed. Lincoln recog- 
nized the weaknesses of men, the shortcomings of human 
nature, the superstition of centuries. He was content with 
'Tarbell, 1, 275. 



An Ema7icipated Politician 167 

slow progress, uncowed by disappointment, and realized that 
the grumbling world emancipated its heart and mind slowly. 

Under the spell of the State Fair speech, Whig leaders 
earnestly besought Lincoln to follow Douglas up until elec- 
tion.^ So again at Peoria, Lincoln broke forth in impas- 
sioned utterances that took captive the judgment. His logic 
throbbed with passion for freedom, for liberty and emanci- 
pation. He lifted his hearers above the jangling of everyday 
life, above the mists of hate, of jealousy, of selfishness, into 
a region of the brotherhood of man. Unlike his speech at 
Springfield, this was written out. It demonstrates that his 
supremacy among the eminent leaders of Illinois was not a 
matter of the choice of the hour. 

With marvelous power of directness, he plotted out the 
line of discussion. He made much of the fact that the 
Fathers of the Republic regarded slavery as an evil worthy 
of restriction and looked forward to the day of its ultimate 
abolition, saying that as the subject was no other than part 
of the larger question of domestic slavery, he wished to make 
the distinction between the existing institution and the ex- 
tension of it so clear that no honest man could misunder- 
stand him, and no dishonest man could successfully mis- 
represent him.^ 

With telling effect he quoted the words of Douglas himself 
as to the sincere observance of the Missouri Compromise that 
put a barrier in the way of the progress of slavery: "It 
had its origin," said Douglas, "in the hearts of all patriotic 
men, who desired to preserve and perpetuate the blessings of 
our glorious Union — an origin akin to that of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, conceived in the same spirit of 
fraternal affection, and calculated to remove forever the 
only danger which seemed to threaten, at some distant day, 
'Lamon, 354. ''Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 181. 



168 Lincoln the Politician 

to sever the social bond of Union. All the evidences of pub- 
lic opinion of that day seemed to indicate that this Com- 
promise had been canonized in the hearts of the American 
people, as a sacred thing which no ruthless hand would ever 
be reckless enough to disturb." ^ His comment on this un- 
answerable statement of Douglas is significant of the nature 
of Lincoln's peculiar fairness and consequent strength. Lin- 
coln said that he did not read the extract to involve Judge 
Douglas in an inconsistency, for if he afterward thought he 
was wrong, it was right for him to change, but he brought 
it forward merely to show the high estimate placed on the 
Missouri Compromise by all parties up to so late as the year 
1849.^ 

In the North and South passion had unloosed its tongue 
and crimination and recrimination were daily becoming 
steady servants in debate and discussion on the slavery ques- 
tion. With it all, Lincoln calmly sat in judgment. 

"Before proceeding let me say that I think I have no preju- 
dices against the Southern people. They are just what we 
would be in their situation. If slavery did not now exist 
between them, they would not introduce it. If it did now 
exist among us, we should not instantly give it up. This I 
believe of the masses North and South. . . . When Southern 
people tell us they are no more responsible for the origin of 
slavery than we are, I acknowledge the fact. When it is 
said that the institution exists, and that it is very difficult 
to get rid of it in any satisfactory way, I can understand 
and appreciate the same. I surely will not blame them for 
not doing what I should not know how to do myself. If all 
earthly power were given me, I should not know what to do 
as to the existing institution. My first impulse would be to 
free all the slaves, and send them to Liberia, to their own na- 

* Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 184. ^ Ibid. 



An Emancipated Politician 169 

tive land. But a moment's reflection would convince me that 
whatever of high hope (as I think there is) there may be in 
this in the long run, its sudden execution is impossible — 
what then? Free them all, and keep them among us as 
underlings? Is it quite certain that this betters their con- 
dition? I think I would not hold one in slavery at any rate, 
yet the point is not clear enough for me to denounce people 
upon. What next? Free them and make them politically 
and socially our equals? My own feelings will not admit of 
this, and if mine would, we well know that those of the great 
mass of whites will not. Whether this feeling accords with 
justice and sound judgment is not the sole question, if indeed 
it is any part of it. A universal feeling, whether well or ill 
founded, cannot be safely disregarded. We cannot make 
them equals. It does seem to me that systems of gradual 
emancipation might be adopted, but for their tardiness in 
this I will not undertake to judge our brethren of the 
South. 

"When they remind us of their constitutional rights, I 
acknowledge them — not grudgingly, but fully and fairly ; and 
I would give them any legislation for the reclaiming of their 
fugitives which should not in its stringency be more likely 
to carry a free man into slavery than our ordinary criminal 
laws are to hang an innocent one. 

"But all this, to my judgment, furnishes no more excuse 
for permitting slavery to go into our free territory than it 
would for reviving the African slave-trade by law. The 
law which forbids the bringing of slaves from Africa, and 
that which has so long forbidden the taking of them into 
Nebraska, can hardly be distinguished on any moral prin- 
ciple, and the repeal of the former could find quite as plaus- 
ible excuses as that of the latter." ^^ 

"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 186-187, 



170 Lincoln tlie Politician 

In the domain of literature on the slavery question there 
is no statement that surpasses this in charity, sanity and 
wisdom. With his overflowing hatred to slavery, he still kept 
justice as his guide and was slow to blame the South for 
the long standing sin. In this he towers above the Aboli- 
tionists who put upon the slave holders the burdens of a 
past as well as a present wrong. Yet unlike the politician 
he did not lose his ideal and become palsied and apologetic. 
He saw the need of keeping alive the principles of the Re- 
public. Hastening the coming of the better humanity, with 
patience for human shortcoming, with zeal for the triumph of 
emancipation, he continued in his peculiar, lonely and potent 
way the advocacy of justice to God's dusky children. 

In the Senate Douglas with triumphant eloquence charged 
Seward and Sumner and the North with having repudiated 
the Missouri Compromise through the Wilmot Proviso and 
the measures of 1850. Anti-slavery leaders in the Senate 
were confounded by this sudden charge and grandiloquent 
accusation. Lincoln took up the challenge and met the 
arrogant claim of Douglas without flinching. His analysis 
exposed the glittering sophistry of the man who enraptured 
the Northern statesmen in the solemn Senate. He not only 
held his ground in the face of the brilliant strategy of his 
opponent, but even carried the war into the camp of the foe. 

He argued that the contention of Douglas that the North 
repudiated the Missouri Compromise was no less absurd than 
it would be to argue that because they had so far forborne 
to acquire Cuba, they would have thereby, in principle, re- 
pudiated former acquisitions and determined to throw them 
out of the Union ; that it was no less absurd than it would 
be to say that because he may have refused to build an 
addition to his house, he thereby decided to destroy the 
existing house. 



An Emancipated Politician 171 

This speech abounds in plain, hard English, travelling 
direct to the intellect on a straight line. No labored argu- 
ment could be half as sure of a welcome to the human mind 
as his graphic exposal of the injustice of the repeal of the 
Missouri Compromise : "After an angry and dangerous con- 
troversy, the parties made friends by dividing the bone of 
contention. The one party first appropriates its own share, 
beyond all power to be disturbed in the possession of it, and 
then seizes the share of the other party. It is as if two 
starving men had divided their own loaf; the one had hastily 
swallowed his half, and then grabbed the other's half just 
as he was putting it to his mouth." ^^ 

In nothing did Douglas show greater genius than in hal- 
lowing his docti'ine of popular sovereignty. The leaders in 
Congress feared openly to fight his vaunted "sacred right of 
self government," they were not sure of their ground. Lin- 
coln with confidence, born of lonely struggle, rushed on the 
angry battlefield to run the gantlet of debate on the con- 
quering doctrine of popular sovereignty: "When the white 
man," he said, "governs himself, that is self-government, 
but when he governs himself and also governs another man, 
that is more than self government — that is despotism. If the 
negro is a man, why then my ancient faith teaches me that 
'all men are created equal,' and that there can be no moral 
right in connection with one man's making a slave of an- 
other. 

"Judge Douglas frequently, with bitter irony and sar- 
casm, paraphrases our argument by saying: 'The white peo- 
ple of Nebraska are good enough to govern themselves, but 
they are not good enough to govern a few miserable negroes !' 
Well! I doubt not that the people of Nebraska are and will 
continue to be as good as the average of people elsewhere. 
^* Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 19:3. 



172 Lincoln the Politician 

I do not say the contrary. What I do say is that no man 
is good enough to govern another man without that other's 
consent." ^^ In a single weighty phrase he crushed the elab- 
orate argument of the Senator of Illinois and left its fair 
form so that only a shattered frame remains. 

At times he spoke like a seer lifted above the petty preju- 
dices of the time. He declared that the spirit of mutual con- 
cession — that first wrought the Constitution, and thrice saved 
the Union — and that trust in a national compromise, would 
thus be strangled; that the South flushed with triumph 
would provoke and aggress, and the North, brooding on 
wrong, would resent and retaliate. He alleged that already a 
few in the North defied all constitutional restraint, and even 
menaced the institution of slavery in the southern States ; 
that already a few in the South claimed the constitutional 
right to hold slaves in the free States and demanded the re- 
vival of the slave trade. That it was a grave question for 
lovers of the Union whether the final destruction of the 
Missouri Compromise, and with it the spirit of all compro- 
mise, would not fatally increase the number of both.^^ 

His sanity enabled him to guide the erring and confounded 
in the days of doubt. "Some men," he said, "mostly Whigs, 
who condemn the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, never- 
theless hesitate to go for its restoration, lest they be thrown 
in company with the Abolitionists. Will they allow me, as 
an old Whig, to tell them, good humoredly, that I think 
this is very silly? Stand with anybody that stands right. 
Stand with him while he is right, and part with him when 
he goes wrong. Stand with the Abolitionists in restoring 
the Missouri Compromise, and stand against him when he 
attempts to repeal the fugitive slave law. In the latter case 
you stand with the Soutliern disunionist. What of that? 

"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 195. "Ibid., 201. 



An Emancipated Politician 173 

You are still right. In both cases you are right. In both 
cases you expose the dangerous extremes. In both you stand 
on middle ground, and hold the ship level and steady." ^^ 

Above all, this speech will live for its moral intensity, 
hatred of injustice and hunger for righteousness. Through- 
out this long appeal and uniting its links of logic is an over- 
powering and pervasive sentiment of the highest humanity. 
Now and then an outburst against oppression comes forth 
resistlessly, yet in the company of a sober expression, logical 
intensity and a broad outlook peculiar to him. These rival 
the most impassioned utterances of Phillips and Garrison. 
Like O'Connell, he sent his voice "careering like the thunder- 
storm against the breeze, to tell the slaveholders of the Caro- 
linas that God's thunderbolts are hot, and to remind the 
bondman that the dawn of his redemption is already break- 
ing." 1^ 

With elation he passed from the sordidness and the tur- 
moil of the courtroom and daily pettiness of common political 
controversy to the championship of an all-mastering prin- 
ciple. He fed the "parched souls of men with celestial ano- 
dyne," with visions of a new and nobler era of humanity. 
He made the humblest voter a public participant in the high 
service of ridding the nation of the shame of slavery. He 
was educating American democracy to practice the principles 
of the Declaration of Independence, restoring to life seem- 
ingly dead doctrines of the fathers. Better than a course in 
ethics was the uplift of his utterances, the call to higher 
attitudes. 

He declared his hate in ringing words, of the indifference 
to, if not covert zeal for, the spread of slavery, of depriving 
the Repubhc of its just influence in the world, of enabling 
the enemies of Democracy to engage in the taunt of hypoc- 

" Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 202. "Martyn's Wendell Phillips, 136, 



174) Lincoln the Politician 

risy, of forcing so many men into open war with the funda- 
mental principles of civil liberty, criticising the Declaration 
of Independence and insisting that there was no right prin- 
ciple but self interest.-^® 

In measured language befitting his solemn theme, Lincoln 
continued his prophetic condemnation of slavery, charging 
that, steadily as man's march to the grave, the people were 
giving up the old for the new faith ; that they had run down 
from the declaration that all men were created equal to the 
declaration that the enslavement of some was a sacred right 
of self government. He dwelt upon the statement of Pettit 
that the Declaration of Independence was a "self evident lie" 
and said that Pettit did what candor required, and that of 
forty-odd Nebraska senators who listened, no one rebuked 
him; and asked if that had been said among Marion's men, 
Southerners though they were, what would have become of 
the man that said it? He added that if it had been said in 
old Independence Hall seventy-eight years before, the very 
doorkeeper would have throttled the man and thrust hinl into 
the street.^'^ 

The day after the Peoria speech, Douglas told Lincoln 
that he understood the Territorial question better than all 
the opposition in the Senate, and declared that Lincoln had 
given him more trouble than his combined antagonists in 
Congress. Then Douglas proposed that he would speak no 
more during the campaign if Lincoln would do the sam^ 
and to that proposition Lincoln acceded.^^ So though a 
speech by Douglas and Lincoln had been advertised for the 
following day, Mr. Douglas said that he was too hoarse to 
speak, and Lincoln declared that he would not take advan- 
tage of the judge's indisposition, by addressing the people. 

"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 186. ^^ Lamon, 358. 

"Ibid., 203. 



An Emancipated Politician 175 

His friends could not see the affair in the same light, and 
they "pressed him for a speech," but Lincoln mysteriously 
and unaccountably refused. ^^ 

Wisely did shrewd Douglas, the imperial leader in debate, 
appeal to the generosity of his opponent to conclude fur- 
ther controversy. Douglas was an over-match for all of 
the radical Abolitionists, the men who spoke of the higher 
law, who made war on the charter of American liberties. 
His better nature rejoiced in such conflicts. But his genius 
was rebuked in the presence of the plain product of the 
West, the man who neither relinquished his confidence in the 
Constitution nor yet in the ultimate triumph of the freedom 
that first gave it its being. Douglas could wage triumphant 
war on a Lovejoy and Chase, but the common logic and 
simple honesty of Lincoln disconcerted him. The elaborate 
oratory of the Senate never confused the Senator of Illinois. 
For the first time in his career the national leader was wor- 
ried and perplexed. He was neither used to nor prepared for 
the combination of talent that could not be diverted from 
its way, that met every movement with a baffling compla- 
cency. There was something unanswerable in Lincoln's man- 
ner and mode of discussion. Douglas could fight other men 
at a distance, but this opponent made it a hand-to-hand 
grapple. At length a man had arisen in the American arena 
as skillful in defense of freedom as other men were in that 
of slavery. An orator had come who combined the solid- 
ity of Webster, the moral fervor of Phillips, and the 
logic of Calhoun; who mingled justice, patriotism and argu- 
ment so as to astonish the foremost figure in Washington. 
It was no idle sentiment that brought Douglas to tender his 
rival the high tribute of a truce. 

The Peoria and State Fair speeches created a supreme 
" Lamon, 359. 



176 Lincoln the Politician 

place for Lincoln in the anti-slavery movement. He was 
looked to as likely to gather great strength in the transi- 
tional period of party dissolution. A dominating passion 
for place again took hold of him. He declared he prized a 
full term in the Senate more than the Presidency. To ad- 
vance local political conditions Lincoln was unwisely made a 
candidate, in his absence, for the State Legislature that 
would soon elect a Senator. Mrs. Lincoln, however, had 
Lincoln's name taken off the list of candidates. When Mr. 
Lincoln returned, "I went to see him," says Jayne, "in order 
to get his consent to run. That was at his house. He was 
then the saddest man I ever saw, — the gloomiest. He walked 
up and down the floor, almost crying; and to all my per- 
suasions to let his name stand in the paper, he said, 'No, I 
can't. You don't know all. I say you don't begin to know 
one-half, and that's enough !' I did, however, go and have 
his name reinstated." After election Lincoln resigned and 
by a "still hunt" a Democrat was elected in his stead. The 
interference of Mrs. Lincoln, the loss of a vote in the ap- 
proaching close contest, according to Jayne, angered the 
people of Sangamon County so that for the time being they 
hated him.* 

Lincoln managed his senatorial campaign with adroitness. 
Herndon shows that Lincoln did not calmly sit down and 
gather his robes around him, waiting for the people to call 
him. The vicissitudes of a political campaign brought into 
play his management, and developed to its fullest extent his 
latent industry. Like other politicians he never overlooked a 
newspaper man who had it in his power to say a good or bad 
thing of him. Writing to the editor of an obscure little 
country newspaper that he had been reading his paper for 
three or four years and had paid him nothing for it, he 

*Lamon, 359-360. 



An Emancipated Politician 177 

enclosed $10.00 and admonished the editor with complacency 
to put it into his pocket and say nothing further about it. 
Very soon thereafter Lincoln prepared a political article 
and sent it to the rural journalist, requesting its publication 
in the editorial columns of his valued paper. The latter, 
having followed Lincoln's directions, declined saying that he 
long ago made it a rule to publish nothing as editorial mat- 
ter not written by himself. Lincoln read the editor's answer 
to Herndon, who remarks that although the laugh was on 
Lincoln the latter enjoyed the joke heartily, and said that 
that editor had a lofty but proper conception of true jour- 
nalism.^^ 

His correspondence shows that he was in constant contact 
with the ever shifting events of the campaign ; that he was 
on the lookout for dangerous symptoms ; that he was careful 
to nicety to measure his strength soberly, and displayed the 
same splendid generalship that distinguished him in his Con- 
gressional canvass. The history of his effort to gain a seat 
in the Senate may be well trailed in his own letters. A curt 
and crisp note advised his friends of his intention. The 
following is a sample of many: "You used to express a 
good deal of partiality for me, and if you are still so, now is 
the time. Some friends here are really for me, for the 
U. S. Senate, and I should be very grateful if you could 
make a mark for me among your members. Please write 
to me at all events giving me the name, postoffices and 
'political position' of members around about you." ^^ 

Lovejoy had only some twenty-five adherents at the con- 
vention following the "State Fair speech" of Lincoln. Noth- 
ing daunted by the paltry attendance, they adopted a bold 
platform. "Ichabod raved," said the Democratic organ in 
derision, "and Lovejoy swelled, and all endorsed the senti- 

=■" Herndon, 2, 44-45. ^ Tarbell, 2, 305. 



178 Lmcoln the Politician 

ments of that speech." Not content with this, without con- 
sent or consultation, they placed Lincoln's name on the list 
of their State Central Committee,^- Lincoln's reply shows 
that he was not unwilling to confer with the abolition leaders 
and that he deemed it well to keep the way open to an under- 
standing. "I suppose my opposition to the principle of 
slavery is as strong as that of any member of the Republican 
party ; but I have also supposed that the extent to which I 
feel authorized to carry that opposition, practically, was 
not at all satisfactory to that party. The leading men who 
organized that party were present on the fourth of October 
at the discussion between Douglas and myself at Springfield, 
and had full opportunity to not misunderstand my position. 
Do I misunderstand them.'^ Please write and inform me." ^^ 
Like other candidates for public office he was subjected 
to all manner of hostility and opposition. He was not spared 
the humility of defending his most cherished integrity. Lin- 
coln was not a common egoist and he sparingly bared his 
view. He was little trained in the easy language of self- 
praise. Yet once across the bar he displayed rare skill in 
the presentation of his position. 

"For a senator to be the impartial representative of his 
whole State is so plain a duty that I pledge myself to the 
observance of it without hesitation, but not without some 
mortification that any one should suspect me of an inclina- 
tion to the contrary. I was eight years a representative of 
Sangamon County in the legislature ; and although in a con- 
flict of interest between that and other counties it perhaps 
would have been my duty to stick to old Sangamon, yet it 
is not within my recollection that the northern members ever 
wanted my vote for any interests of theirs without getting 

=" Nicolay & Hay, 1, 386. 

» Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 210. 



An Emancipated Politician 179 

it." 24 

Self interest in the campaign did not once lead him astray 
in partial judgment of the course of events. Early in Janu- 
ary he informed Washburne that he did not know that it was 
of much advantage to have the largest number of votes at 
the start; that if he did know it to be an advantage, he 
should feel better, for he had more committals than any other 
man. 2^ He remained a master in the study of the attitude 
of the individual voter and delegate. He not only had the 
enthusiasm of the orator, but also the keen, calm sense of the 
politician, knowing that battles are largely won by strategy 
and plan. He did not leave the decision to chance. He 
studied the way to reach men, the method of attaching and 
calling friends. He was methodical rather than brilliant. 

His last letter dealing with the event opens with the state- 
ment that the agony was over at last. He then unfolded 
the story of his defeat, how his forty-seven adherents yielded 
to the five of Trumbull, how Governor Matteson by a secret 
candidacy gathered some anti-Nebraska men to his support ; 
how five of the latter declared they would never vote for a 
Whig and twenty Whigs resentfully contended that they 
would not vote for the man of the five. He then stated that 
the signal was given to the Nebraska men to turn to Matteson 
on the seventh ballot ; that soon he only wanted three of an 
election ; that to detain the bolters Lincoln's friends turned 
to Trumbull until he had risen to thirty-five and he, Lincoln, 
had been reduced to fifteen ; that they would never desert 
him except by direction ; that he then determined to strike 
at once and accordingly advised the fifteen to go for Trum- 
bull and thus elected him on the tenth ballot. 

"Such is the way," said Lincoln, "the thing was done. I 
think you would have done the same under the circumstances ; 

"^Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 212. ^'^ Ibid., 213. 



180 Lincoln the Politician 

though Judge Davis, who came down this morning, declares 
he never would have consented to the forty-seven being con- 
trolled by the five. I regret my defeat moderately, but I am 
not nervous about it. I could have headed off every combina- 
tion and been elected, had it not been for Matteson's double 
game — and his defeat now gives me more pleasure than my 
own gives me pain. On the whole, it is perhaps as well for 
our general cause that Trumbull is elected. The Nebraska 
men confess that they hate it worse than anything that could 
have happened. It is a great consolation to see them worse 
whipped than I am." ^^ 

Here a composite Lincoln confronts the student — a poli- 
tician much concerned over defeat and getting pleasure out 
of the failure of an unfair opponent. Yet at the same time 
another Lincoln reveals himself. Determined to run no risk 
in the cause of freedom he yielded cherished hopes and gave 
way to an obstinate minority. He would not allow his own 
fortune to stand in the way of striking a blow at the slave 
power. Lincoln emancipated himself from selfish egoism, 
rising in the hour of disappointment to the calmness of 
duty. 

'^Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 213-215. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE PILOT OF THE NEW FAITH IN ILLINOIS 

ABOLITIONISM as a gospel showed rather paltry re- 
sults for thirty years of unceasing labor. Still its essen- 
tial dogma, hatred to human bondage, slowly but steadily 
held a larger place in the public thought. Mistakes of the 
South and its Northern friends hurried on a crisis. The 
Kansas controversy made the issue of a remorseless con- 
flict, clearer by a concrete example of the incompatibility of 
freedom and slavery. The nation was thus educated for 
aggressive action on the long mooted question. The time 
was becoming ripe for the translation of public sentiment 
into party platform, statute and decision. The Abolitionist 
with relentless gospel even of war on the Constitution was 
altogether too radical for the general mind. The slowly 
dying Whig party had not kept pace with the advanced 
public thought, it was too conservative. The democratic 
party kept on its path either of indifference to the slavery 
issue or ardent support of the southern view and was the 
refuge of those who were dead to the sweep of events. Hence 
the necessity of a new party, with a platform that should 
sturdily proclaim resistance to the spread of slavery in the 
territories ; that should register a rising spirit in the North, 
growing restless and sensitive as it contemplated the in- 
creasing demands of the Southern institutions, as it grasped 
the significance of the issue involving the continued existence 
in their primal integrity of cherished principles of the Re- 

181 



182 Lmcoln the Politician 

public, a grappling for political supremacy of the free labor 
of the North and the slave power of the South. Mingled 
with the essential spirit of justice pervading Abolitionism 
was the growth of the opinion that slavery was a social and 
political evil. The public wrath at the repeal of a venerated 
Compromise, the increasing discontent at the violent mani- 
festations of the friends of slavery in Kansas, prepared the 
public for the formation of a radical party. 

Lincoln being a man of power, was beset by three parties. 
He was urged to remain a Whig by the conservatives, to be- 
come a Know-nothing by those drifting on the political 
waters. Others sought to baptise him in the spirit of Abo- 
litionism. Lincoln had long since made his resolution to 
array himself on the side of freedom. He was awaiting the 
right moment. He saw the time for leadership was coming, 
that events were rapidly sweeping forward to a climax. In 
the perturbed political condition he was anxious not to go 
ahead of events and still not play the laggard. Among all 
politicians in American history he was the wisest student of 
the public mind. 

With true vision, Lincoln foreshadowed the solemn con- 
sequences of the Kansas struggle. He asked if there could 
be a more apt invention to bring about collision and violence 
on the slavery question than the "Nebraska project," and 
whether "the first drop of blood so shed would not be the 
real knell of the Union." ^'~ Behind the fair form of the Doug- 
las doctrine of popular sovereignty, he saw the lurking ser- 
pent. He was not deceived by fine, smooth words. In the 
beginning, he beheld the gaping wounds of Kansas, the hypoc- 
risy of the policy professing the name of peace and bringing 
in its train the devildom of discord, the curse of a broken, 
plighted compact. A letter to his friend Speed in 1855 
' ^Lincoln's Speedies, 1, 200. 



The Pilot of tJie Nexv Faith in Illinois 183 

illumines the whole subject, and is a contribution to the po- 
litical history of the time — unsurpassed in statement, in 
clearness of understanding, in subdued calmness of judg- 
ment : 

"You know I dislike slavery, and you fully admit the ab- 
stract wrong of it. So far there is no cause of difference. 
But you say that sooner than yield your legal right to the 
slave, especially at the bidding of those who are not them- 
selves interested, you would see the Union dissolved. I am 
not aware than any one is bidding you yield that right ; very 
certainly I am not. I leave that matter entirely to yourself. 
I also acknowledge 3^our rights and my obligations under 
the Constitution in regard to your slaves. I confess I hate 
to see the poor creatures hunted down and caught and car- 
ried back to their stripes and unrequited toil ; but I bite my 
lips and keep quiet. ... It is not fair for you to assume 
that I have no interest in a thing which has, and continually 
exercises, the power of making me miserable. You ought 
rather to appreciate how much the great body of the North- 
ern people do crucify their feelings, in order to maintain their 
loyalty to the Constitution and the Union." ^ 

He then bared with remorseless logic the common southern 
attitude : "You say, if you were President, you would send 
an army and hang the leaders of the Missouri outrages 
among the Kansas elections ; still, if Kansas fairly votes 
herself a slave State she must be admitted or the Union must 
be dissolved. But how if she votes herself a slave State un- 
fairly, that is, by the very means for which you say you 
would hang men.'^ Must she still be admitted, or the Union 
dissolved? That will be the phase of the question when it 
first becomes a practicable one." * 

The same letter shows he was aware of the potency of the 

■Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 217. * Ibid. 



184 Lmcohi the Politician 

partisan lash, was an observer of the methods of securing 
results, of the cowardice and timidity of leaders where politi- 
cal policy appeared on the horizon. He confessed that in 
their opposition to the admission of Kansas, they would 
probably be beaten; that the Democrats standing as a unit 
among themselves, could, directly or indirectly, bribe enough 
men to carry the day as they could on the open proposition 
to establish a monarchy ; that by getting hold of some man 
in the North whose position and ability was such that he 
could make the support of the measure, whatever it might be, 
a party necessity, the thing would be done.^ 

Then came a biting comment on the pretenses and prac- 
tices of those who were spreading the national disease, of 
those who had one doctrine in public and another in private, 
who worshij)ped the God of Liberty with speech and Mammon 
with their deeds. In the same letter Lincoln said that al- 
though in a private letter or conversation the slaveholders 
would express their preference that Kansas should be free, 
they would not vote for a man for Congress who would say 
the same thing publicly and no such man could be elected 
from any district in a slave State; that slave-breeders and 
slave-traders were a small, detested class among them; and 
yet in politics they dictated the course of the Southerners, 
and were as completely their masters as they were the master 
of their own negroes.^ 

A vivid picture of party uncertainty is seen in his answer 
to the inquiry of Speed as to where he then stood. "I think 
I am a Whig; but others say there are no Whigs, and say 
that I am an Abolitionist. When I was at Washington, I 
voted for the Wilmot proviso as good as forty times ; and 
I never heard of any one attempting to unwhig me for that. 
I now do no more than oppose the extension of slavery. I 

"Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 217-218. 'Ibid., 218. 



The Pilot of the New Faith in Illinois 185 

am not a Know-nothing; that is certain. How could I be? 
How could any one who abhors the oppression of negroes be 
in favor of degrading classes of white people? Our progress 
in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation 
we began by declaring that 'all men are created equal.' We 
now practically read it, 'all men are created equal except 
negroes.' When the Know-nothings get control, it will read 
'all men are created equal, except negroes and foreigners and 
Catholics.' When it comes to this, I shall prefer emigrating 
to some country where they make no pretense of loving lib- 
erty, — to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken 
pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy." "^ 

To him "Know-nothingism" transcended all questions of 
policy, denied the very mission of Democracy, turned back 
the hour hand of political progress and was traitor and re- 
creant to its teachings. He was not sure of his standing in 
the transitional period of party dissolution and showed some- 
thing in his mental attitude of the spirit of unrest abroad 
in the nation and hardly knew whither the trend of events 
would carry the American people. Cautious in moving for- 
ward on matters involving method, he was unwedgeable when 
the principles of the Republic were at stake. His note of 
scorn rings clear and loud to these who, in selfishness and 
bigotry, sought exceptions to and a narrow interpretation 
of the Declaration of Independence. 

By nature Lincoln was a friend of peace. He would have 
rejoiced at any plan that produced a peaceful solution of 
the vexed problem. No matter how slow the march of free- 
dom, he would have bridled his wrath. But the aggressive- 
ness of the South in the Kansas struggle opened his vision 
to the fatuity of gradual emancipation. He grew bitter 
as Garrison in statement as he contemplated the hypocritic 

' Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 218. 



186 Lincoln the Politician 

limits on freedom, the spread of an institution hostile to 
democracy with an ever widening promise of future abate- 
ment: "On the question of liberty as a principle," he wrote 
a friend, "we are not what we have been. When we were 
the political slaves of King George, and wanted to be free, 
we called the maxim that 'all men are created equal,' a self 
evident truth, but now when we have grown fat, and have 
lost all dread of being slaves ourselves, we have become so 
greedy to be masters that we call the same maxim 'a self 
evident lie.' The Fourth of July has not quite dwindled 
away; it is still a great day — for burning fire-crack- 
ers ! ! !" « 

The groping of a giant mind concerning itself with a 
mammoth problem, the germ of the great speech of Spring- 
field that was soon to startle the nation with its boldness like- 
wise shows itself in this same letter. "Our political problem 
now is, 'Can we as a nation continue together permanently — 
forever — half slave and half free?' The problem is too 
mighty for me — may God, in his mercy, superintend the solu- 
tion." » 

Finally the nation changed. The people, once dead to 
the cry of the slave, were alive to the evil of slavery. Doc- 
trines once deemed the outburst of the fanatic were now on 
the lips of conservative men, and Lovejoy had become the 
consort of the political leader. All these years, Lincoln had 
waited in patience for the day when white men should be 
ready to fight for the freedom of others. Civilization comes 
from a sure, steady and progressive enlightenment of public 
sentiment. Genius alone is helpless in the presence of a 
palsied national opinion. Consider Lincoln in South Caro- 
lina in 1856, and the hopelessness of the ideal without the 
company of circumstances is manifest. Living history comes 
« Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 215. » Ibid., 216. 



The Pilot of the New Faith in lUvnois 187 

from the union of the great man and the happy moment for 
the crystalHzation of advancing public sentiment. In this 
sense alone the individual makes history, and it becomes the 
record of the few. The great man is the symbol of the 
marching life of the multitude and through him humanity 
moves resistlessly to its higher attitude. 

A gathering of editors opposed to the Nebraska bill on 
February 22, 1856, marked the first visible step in the forma- 
tion of the Republican party in Illinois. Lincoln was, of 
course, not entitled to participate in the public deliberations 
of that convention. That he promptly heard the tramp of 
coming events is seen in his readiness to play a commanding 
part in the early manifestation of the protesting movement. 

Declaring that the black cloud of the American party was 
threatening to drive the Germans from the ranks of the 
party about to be formed, Hon. George Schieder said that 
he entered the Decatur convention with a resolution in oppo- 
sition to that movement, and helped to form a platform con- 
taining a paragraph against the proscriptive doctrine of the 
so-called American party. That portion of the platform 
condemning Know-nothingism raised a storm of opposition, 
and, in despair, he proposed submitting it to Mr. Lincoln 
and abiding by his decision. After carefully reading the 
paragraph, Lincoln made the remark that the resolution 
introduced by Mr. Schieder was nothing new, that it was 
already contained in the Declaration of Independence, and 
that they could not form a new party on proscriptive prin- 
ciples. Mr. Schieder states that this declaration of Lincoln 
saved the resolution and helped to establish the new party 
on the most liberal basis, and that it was adopted at the 
Bloomington Convention, and next at the First National- 
Republican Convention at Philadelphia. He further states 
that Lincoln crystallized public sentiment, gave it a focal 



188 Lmcoln the Politician 

point, so that the great majority of the Germans entered 
the new party that later made Lincoln President. 

Lincoln was in the van of the leaders who rallied to the 
support of the infant party that has written such luminous 
pages in American history. He showed his wonted sagacity, 
when an editor suggested his name as a candidate for Gov- 
ernor, in immediately advising the nomination of an anti- 
Nebraskan Democratic candidate, on the ground that such a 
nomination would be more available.^^ 

To Herndon the caution of Lincoln seemed to partake of 
brotherhood with inaction. He hardly realized the sureness 
of the unremitting character of his progress. As Lincoln's 
partner felt the thrilling approach of a political crisis, he 
resolved to unloose Lincoln from his conservative connec- 
tions without realizing that the latter was ready to dare the 
future on the bark of the coming party. Delegates were to 
be elected for the State Convention at Bloomington that 
was to breathe life into the Republican party in Illinois. 
Herndon signed Mr. Lincoln's name to the call for the San- 
gamon County Convention without authority and published 
it in a local paper. A dramatic incident ensued: 

"John T. Stuart was keeping his eye on Lincoln, with a 
view of keeping him on his side — the totally dead conservative 
side. Mr. Stuart saw the published call and grew mad; 
rushed into my office, seemed mad, horrified, and said to me, 
'Sir, did Mr. Lincoln sign that Abolition call which is pub- 
lished this morning?' I answered, 'Mr. Lincoln did not sign 
that call.' — 'Did Lincoln authorize you to sign it?' said Mr. 
Stuart. 'No, he never authorized me to sign it.' — 'Then do 
you know that you have ruined Mr. Lincoln?' — 'I did not 
know that I had ruined Mr. Lincoln ; did not intend to do so ; 
thought he was a made man by it; that the time had come 

"Transactions McLean Co., 3, 39. 



The Pilot of the New Faith vn Illinois 189 

when conservatism was a crime and a blunder.' — 'You, then, 
take the responsibihty of your acts; do you?' — 'I do, most 
emphatically.' " 

Herndon then wrote Lincoln. He instantly replied that 
he adopted what Herndon had done, and promised to meet 
Lovejoy and other radicals. ^^ 

Lincoln did not serve freedom in word only. A free young 
negro was in danger of being sold into slavery. The Gov- 
ernor of Illinois was seen. He responded that he had no right 
to interfere. Lincoln rose from his chair, hat in hand, and 
exclaimed: "By God, Governor, I'll make the ground in this 
country too hot for the foot of a slave, whether you have 
the legal power to secure a release of this boy or not." ^^ 

During all the trying time when the liberty of Kansas 
was in the balance, when violence was being met with violence, 
when even conservative men drifted into the movement to 
aid the free state men in opposing the Government, he re- 
mained master of himself, looked beyond the passion of the 
moment to the abiding realities. Herndon, who was a par- 
ticipant in this movement, unfolds a view of the calm, far 
sighted man, who knew that violence was the father of great 
evils and not a safe foundation for a free state. He says 
that Lincoln was informed of their intents, and took the 
first opportunity that he could to dissuade them from their 
partially formed purpose. They spoke of liberty, justice, 
and God's higher law. He answered that he believed "in the 
providence of the most men, the largest purse, and the long- 
est cannon" ; that if they were in the minority, they could 
not succeed, and that if they were in the majority they could 
succeed with the ballot, throwing away the bullet. He 
advised them that, "In a democracy where the majority rule 
by the ballot through the forms of law, physical rebeUions 
" Lamon, 374-375. " Herndon, 2, 47-48. 



190 Lincoln the Politician 

and bloody resistances" were radically wrong, unconstitu- 
tional, and were treason. He besought them to revolutionize 
through the ballot-box, and "restore the Government once 
more to the affections and hearts of men, by making it ex- 
press, as it was intended to do, the highest spirit of justice 
and liberty." Their attempt, he continued, to resist the 
laws of Kansas by force, was criminal and all their feeble 
attempts would end in bringing sorrow on their heads, and 
ruin the cause they would freely die to preserve. ^^ Well 
might Herndon say that this speech saved them from the 
greatest follies. ^^ Instead of desperate measures, money was 
forwarded under legitimate conditions, Lincoln joining in 
the subscription. 

The second step in the formation of the Republican party 
was the Convention at Bloomington. Tragic events had 
taken place in the State and Nation ; signs of the sombre 
character of the approaching conflict. Sumner was struck 
down in the Senate by the dastard attacks of Brooks, an 
act which sent a shudder of anger and indignation through 
the North and a wave of approbation through the South. 
This incident alone showed the strain that the moorings of 
the Nation were undergoing. In Illinois, too, violence as- 
serted its hideousness, and a delegate, Paul Selby, was 
treacherously assaulted by political opponents. The spread 
of the Civil War in Kansas heightened the magnitude of the 
occasion. The seriousness of the National and State situa- 
tion had taken hold of the delegates. The gravity of public 
affairs aroused mad instincts. Many were ready for radical 
conduct, were ready to meet force with force, and violence 
with violence. 

From the four corners of the State, dauntless anti-Ne- 
braska Democrats, conservative Whig, distraught Know- 

" Lamon, 372-373. " Herndon, 2, 49. 



The Pilot of tJie Nezi) Faith in lUi/nolt 191 

nothing, bitter Abolitionist, and those drifting on the tide 
of events, gathered under a common impulse in opposition 
to the vaunting slave party. Beneath the surface there was 
memory of former antagonism. The problem of the hour 
was the uniting of these discordant elements into the homo- 
geneity of common conviction ; submerging old and cherished 
affiliations with a flood of fealty to a new gospel ; the trans- 
muting raw recruits ; quickening the martial spirit commonly 
the product only of long service. 

It was a time for a momentous speech. Several leaders 
of distinction had addressed the convention, when the au- 
dience, with instinctive wisdom, called for Lincoln to 
make the closing address. It was one of those rare moments 
in human affairs when words may turn the tide of events. 
He caught the wandering thoughts of troubled men and gave 
them continuity. ^^ Those long without a political faith were 
rejoiced to find a home. Like an inspired giant, he was aglow 
with the greatness of his theme. He spoke as the spirit of 
the age might have spoken, if it had broken into eloquence 
sublime and resistless. Men were brought face to face with 
immortal justice, with eternal righteousness. The humblest 
hearer lived in the thrill of such communion. Reporters 
dropped their pencils and forgot their work; even Herndon, 
who was wont to take notes when Lincoln spoke, threw pen 
and paper aside, subdued and overcome by the majesty of 
his partner's speech. 

It was not alone a triumph in immediate results, but also 
a triumph in moulding the abiding convictions of men. Above 
all the enthusiasm of the moment, there still remained his 
solid logic, a logic that made Republicans of life-long Demo- 
crats. John M. Palmer declared that he remembered only 
one expression of speech, "We will not dissolve the Union, 
" Transactions McLean Co., 3, 91. 



192 Lvncoln the Politician 

and you shall not do it." Others dwelt on his declaration 
to meet the occasion with ballots and not bullets, and so the 
minds of men as well as the impulses were wisely educated. 
The address became famous as "the lost speech." Its re- 
nown grew with age. It became sacred to the memory of 
those who heard it and time hallowed its history.^® 

In the light of later events, the platform adopted at the 
Bloomington Convention seems conservative. It simply re- 
buked the administration for its attitude on the Kansas issue, 
the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and the extension 
of slavery into Territories. ■'•^ 

When the first flood of enthusiasm, after the Bloomington 
Convention, subsided, a mysterious apathy, a stifling indif- 
ference, met the new movement, a no unusual phenomenon 
in politics or human aff'airs. Such a time had now come. 
It was at this period dark and trying that Lincoln towered 
in lonely grandeur. It was easy enough to be brave a,nd 
vaunting at a convention when thousands hung on every 
word. But now it took a higher heroism to be true to the 
cause. Then Lincoln did not flinch. With superb step, with 
elated soul, with increasing intrepidity, he continued the 
championship of the same principles that took captive the 
delegates at Bloomington. He spoke like one in the wilder- 
ness. 

Lamon tells the story of a ratification meeting five days 
after the Bloomington Convention: — "Mr. Herndon got out 
huge posters, announcing the event, and employed a band 
of musicians to parade the streets and 'drum up a crowd.' 
As the hour of meeting drew near, he 'lit up the Court House 
with many blazes,' rung the bells and blew a horn. At 
seven o'clock the meeting should have been called to order, 
but it turned out to be extremely slim. There was nobody 

*« Tarbell, 1, 296. " Lamon, 376. 



The Pilot of the New Faith in Illimois 193 

present, with all those brilliant lights, but A. Lincoln, W. 
H. Herndon and W. H. Pain. 'When Lincoln came into 
the Court-room,' says the bill-poster and horn-blower of this 
great demonstration, 'he came with a sadness and a sense of 
the ludicrous on his face. He walked to the stand, mounted 
it in a kind of mockery, — mirth and sadness all combined, — 
and said : 'Gentlemen, this meeting is larger than I knew it 
would be. I knew that Herndon and myself would come, 
but I did not know that any one else would be here ; and yet 
another has come, — you, John Pain. These are sad times, 
and seem out of joint. All seems dead, dead, dead: but the 
age is not yet dead; it liveth as sure as our Maker liveth. 
Under all this seeming want of life and motion, the world 
does move nevertheless. Be hopeful. Now let us adjourn 
and appeal to the people.' " ^^ 

In June the first National Republican Convention met at 
Philadelphia. Young, aggressive and flushed with enthu- 
siasm, it put forth as the standard bearer, John C. Fre- 
mont, the daring, romantic pathfinder. Lincoln received one 
hundred and ten votes for the vice-presidency. So little was 
this distinction anticipated, that at first he refused to believe 
that he was the recipient of the flattering compliment, saying 
that it must have been the great Lincoln from Massachusetts. 

Like the Bloomington gathering the National Convention 
instinctively linked itself in strength to the impressing prin- 
ciples of the Declaration of Independence. It took a bolder 
and more advanced stand than the Illinois Convention, deny- 
ing the authority of Congress to give legal existence to 
slavery in any Territory and that it was its right and duty to 
prohibit therein those "twin relics of barbarism, polygamy 
and slavery." ^^ 

In the ensuing campaign, Lincoln, as a presidential elec 

"Larnon, 377-378, "Nicolay & Hay, 2, 36-37. 



194 LmcoT/n the Politician 

tor and orator towered in the State as strong in his invigo- 
rating championship of the Republican policies. He made 
fifty speeches. Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa sent for him. 
The impress of his personality was humbly, but pervasively 
winning the hearts and minds of men. One man wrote with 
sure faith, "Come to our place, because in you do our people 
place more confidence than in any other man. Men who do 
not read want the story told as you only can tell it. Others 
may make fine speeches but it would not be 'Lincoln said so 
in his speech.' " ^^ A college president spoke of him with 
reverence, as, "one providentially raised up for a time like 
this, and even should defeat come in the contest, it would be 
some consolation to remember we had Hector for a leader." ^^ 

He was most skillful in seeing the danger of Fillmore as a 
candidate in withholding strength from Fremont. He studied 
the problem as keenly as a legal proposition. No man in all 
of the United States saw the issues more plainly or could 
state it as precisely. To a Fillmore man he wrote that every 
vote withheld from Fremont and given to Fillmore in Illinois 
actually lessened Fillmore's chance of being President, for 
if Buchanan got all the slave states and Pennsylvania, and 
one other State, he would be elected, but if Fillmore got the 
slave states of Maryland and Kentucky, then Buchanan 
would not be elected and Fillmore would go into the House 
of Representatives, and might be made President by a com- 
promise. Likewise he argued that if Fillmore's friends threw 
away a few thousand votes on him in Indiana, it would in- 
evitably give those states to Buchanan, which would more 
than compensate him for the loss of Maryland and Ken- 
tucky ; that it was as plain as adding up the weight of three 
small hogs for Fillmore who had no possible chance to carry 
Illinois for himself, to let Fremont take it, and thus keep 

*'Herndon, 2, 56. '^Ibid. 



TJie Pilot of the New Faith in Illinois 195 

it out of the hands of Buchanan. Lamon remarks that this 
letter was discovered by the Buchanan men, printed in their 
newspapers, and pronounced, as its author anticipated, "a 
mean trick," and that it was a dangerous document to them, 
and was calculated to undermine the very citadel of their 
strength. ^^ 

Lincoln's fear of Fillmore was justified by events. While 
Fremont was defeated, Bissel the Republican was elected 
Governor by a fair margin. To Lincoln, the defeat of Fre- 
mont was prophetic of future triumph. With infinitely 
surer vision than President Pierce, he perceived the trend of 
events. Beyond seeming setback, he beheld the triumphing 
movement. He likened the President to a rejected lover 
making merry at the wedding of his rival, in felicitating him- 
self hugely over the late presidential election, in consider- 
ing the result a signal triumph of good men, and a very 
pointed rebuke of bad ones. To the statement of Pierce that 
the people did it, Lincoln called attention to the fact that 
those who voted for Buchanan, were in a minority of the 
whole people by about four hundred thousand votes, and 
thus the "rebuke" might not be quite as durable as he seemed 
to think and that the majority might not choose to remain 
permanently rebuked by that minority.-^ 

Strong in the belief that slavery was at war with the essen- 
tial spirit of the Republic, he declared that the government 
rested on public opinion; that public opinion, on any subject, 
always had a "central idea," and that "central idea" in 
American political public opinion was until recently "the 
equality of man," and although it submitted patiently to 
some inequality as a matter of actual necessity, its constant 
working was a steady progress toward the practical equality 
of all men and the late Presidential election was a struggle 

>=• Lamon, 383. ^ Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 225. 



196 Lvncoln the Politician 

by one party to discard that central idea and to substitute 
as a central idea the perpetuity of human slavery and its 
extension to all countries and colors.^* 

This conviction vivified him with new hopes. The leader 
called to those in the valley of doubt and indifference to 
leave their low-vaulted chamber: "Then let bygones be by- 
gones; let past differences as nothing be; and with steady 
eye on the real issue, let us reinaugurate the good old 'central 
idea' of the republic. We can do it. The human heart is 
with us ; God is with us. We shall again be able not to de- 
clare that 'all States as States are equal,' nor yet that 'all 
citizens as citizens are equal,' but to renew the broader, better 
declaration, including both these and much more, that 'all 
men are created equal.' " ^^ 

=" Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 225. ^ Ibid., 226. 



CHAPTER XIII 

LINCOLN AND THE DRED SCOTT DECISION 

WITH unfailing vision Lincoln was attracted to the 
larger issues under all professed and alleged reasons, 
both North and South, as to the cause of difference in atti- 
tude on the slavery question. He believed it was largely an 
industrial and economical problem, a moral conflict in the 
North mainly through the absence of a controlling material 
interest. With plain, blunt speech, he laid bare the national 
cancer in October, 1856, showing that there was no difference 
in the mental or moral structure of the people North and 
South, but that in the slavery question the people of the 
South had an immediate, immense, pecuniary interest, while 
with the people of the North it was merely an abstract ques- 
tion of moral right. 

The slaves of the South, he continued, were worth a thou- 
sand millions of dollars, and that financial interest united 
the Southern people as one man ; that moral principle was a 
looser bond than pecuniary interest. Hence if a Southern 
man aspired to be President, they choked him down, that 
the glittering prize of the presidency might be held up on 
southern terms to Northern ambition. And their conventions 
in 1848, 1852 and 1856 had been struggles exclusively among 
Northern men, each vying to outbid the other, the South 
standing calmly by finally to cry "Going, going, gone" to the 
highest bidder.^ 

* Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 223. 

197 



198 Lincoln the Politician 

The Dred Scott decision throws a shadow over the judicial 
history of the United States. That in an hour of crisis the 
supreme judicial tribunal should ally itself with the potent 
institution of injustice rather than with humanity, should 
interpret the principles of the Constitution and the Declara- 
tion of Independence in a paltry and impoverished manner, 
should cringe before title and power and grovel in gloom in 
the dawn of a new era of American citizenship, an era that 
was to hurl its thunderbolts with ever increasing daring 
against the further advance of the slave sovereignty, is 
baffling and astounding. 

Lincoln realized that the Supreme Court to be venerated, 
must be in the van, and not a laggard in the world spirit and 
progress ; a guide and not a pupil in the best kind of citizen- 
ship and sensitive to the rising tide of public conscience. 
The Dred Scott decision did more than any malice of foe to 
weaken the general regard for the august tribunal — the one 
supreme discovery of American politics. 

It is of interest to study Lincoln's attitude to this deci- 
sion and to the tribunal responsible for it. Above most 
men, he had preached the gospel of sacred devotion to law 
and to the iniquity of mob rule. He was an enemy of all 
violence. Yet he rcbelliously abided the adjudication that 
made the prospective emancipation of the black man more 
uncertain, that imprisoned the enlightened principles of the 
Fathers of the Republic, that manacled America in her Titan 
march on the highway of humanity. 

Lincoln maintained in 1857 that judicial decisions had 
two uses, to absolutely determine the case decided, and to 
indicate to the public how other similar cases would be de- 
cided. Lincoln then argued that if the decision had been 
made by the unanimous concurrence of the judges, without 
partisan bias, in accordance with legal public expectation, 



Lincoln and the Dred Scott Decision 199 

and in no part based on assumed historical facts which were 
not really true ; or if it had been before the court more than 
once, and had there been reaffirmed through a course of 
years, it then might be even revolutionary not to acquiesce in 
it as a precedent.^ 

Still, by the side of the impassioned outbreaks of the abo- 
litionists and radicals this criticism seems cold and measured. 
But Lincoln with his usual apprehension justified his oppo- 
sition by democratic example. He confounded Douglas by 
recalling the action of his ideal Jackson on a Whig measure, 
the National Bank, with the statement that the same Supreme 
Court once decided a national bank to be constitutional; 
but President Jackson disregarded the decision, and vetoed 
a bill for the recharter, partly on constitutional ground de- 
claring that each public functionary must support the Con- 
stitution as he understood it. And then to the further dis- 
comfiture of Douglas he declared that again and again he 
had heard Judge Douglas denounce that bank decision and 
applaud General Jackson for disregarding it; that it would 
be interesting for him to look over his recent speech, and 
see how exactly his fierce philippics against resisting Su- 
preme Court decisions fell upon his own head.^ Still Douglas 
might have retorted that in those days the Whigs were vio- 
lent in their denunciation of General Jackson for that very 
opposition. 

In the same speech Lincoln burst into indignant eloquence 
at the policy that was a departure from the old ideas of jus- 
tice and liberty and the still more radiant hope of the future 
indulged in by Washington, Jefferson and Franklin, that 
in time slavery would no longer darken or endanger the 
national life, for Lincoln said that in those days the Declara- 
tion was held sacred by all, and thought to include all ; but 

=■ Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 228, Ubid., 229. 



200 Lmcoln the Politician 

that at this time it was construed, hawked at and torn, tiE, 
if its framers could rise from their graves, they could not 
at all recognize it. He observed that all the powers of earth 
seemed rapidly combining against the negro ; that Mammon, 
ambition, philosophy and theology of the day were fast join- 
ing the cry; that they had him in his prison-house, bolted 
in with a lock of a hundred keys, which could never be un- 
locked without the concurrence of every key — the keys in 
the hands of a hundred different men, and they scattered to 
a hundred and distant places ; and they still stood musing 
as to what invention, in all the dominions of mind and mat- 
ter, could be produced to make the impossibility of his escape 
more complete than it was.* 

Less than a decade of history proved Lincoln wiser than 
those who framed the momentous majority opinion in the 
Dred Scott case. Lincoln was learned not alone in legal 
knowledge, but was also familiar with the mighty national 
movements that laugh laws and decisions to scorn ; that ulti- 
mately and finally determine progress. These judges were 
students of the past, slaves of precedent, defenders of an- 
tiquity, while Lincoln was a student of the present and the 
future and the ambassador of abiding justice. He had as 
deep and ultimate a knowledge of the national character and 
capacity as the statesman, and was a student of political 
and social progress in order to follow and wisely lead the 
deep public sentiment and conscience that alone measures 
true civilization. 
* Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 231. 



♦ 



•A. 



CHAPTER XIV 

LEADER OP THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN ILLINOIS 

FEW pages in our history present a darker picture than 
the ruffianism of the friends of slavery in Kansas, and 
the retaliating spirit of its opponents. Still, the gloom is 
illumined by patriotic politicians, democratic slave holders 
and sympathizers, who sternly put duty before party. There 
are few more glorious incidents in our political annals than 
the unwavering fidelity of Robert J. Walker of Mississippi. 
As Governor of Kansas he lived up to his public pledges, 
though the offer of the Presidency of the United States was 
dangled before him.^ Like Washington, himself. Walker tow- 
ered above temptation. If the Mississippi statesman had 
held the place of Buchanan, slavery, instead of being nursed 
by the palsied policy of the Northern statesman, would have 
been startled by another Jackson, and the nation might have 
owed its salvation to a Southern leader instead of to the 
prairie politician. 

In the fine language of Seward: "The ghosts on the banks 
of the Styx constitute a cloud scarcely more dense than the 
spirits of the departed Governors of Kansas, wandering in 
exile and sorrow for having certified the truth against false- 
hood in regard to the elections between Freedom and Slavery 
in Kansas." ^ The strange fact above all is that the admis- 
sion of Kansas as a slave state against the wishes of its 
people was not asked for by the South. It was freely ten- 

'Gilmore, 9-104. ^Nicolay & Hay, 2, 118. 

201 



202 Lmcoln the Politician 

dered to the slave dynasty by a majority of northern demo- 
crats in the executive and legislative branches of the Gov- 
ernment.^ And so again the North shared with the South 
in the zeal for spreading slavery. 

The final scene in the drama was the Lecompton Constitu- 
tion. Douglas then saw the fatal result that Lincoln had 
foretold in his June speech of 1857, when he declared that 
Douglas, since the famous Nebraska Bill, saw himself super- 
seded in a presidential nomination by one generally endors- 
ing his measure, but standing clear of the odium of its un- 
timely agitation and its violation of the national faith; that 
he saw his chief aids in his own State, politically speaking, 
successfully tried, convicted and executed for an offense not 
their own, but his, and that now he saw his own case standing 
next on the docket for trial.* 

Northern Democrats refused to brook longer the crime in 
Kansas. To refuse submission of the Constitution to that 
people made a mockery of the popular sovereignty of Doug- 
las. With desperate constancy he had impressed that great 
principle, as he called it, on his constituency. It was now 
so shorn of all dignity that even a child might see it. He 
either had to lose Illinois or fight the policy of the adminis- 
tration. Once having decided to differ he took a bold stand. 
No Abolitionist or Republican used plainer or more impel- 
ling language : "But if this Constitution is to be forced down 
our throats, in violation of the fundamental principles of 
free government, under a mode of submission that is a mock- 
ery and insult, I will resist it to the last. I have no fear of 
any party associations being severed. I should regret any 
social or political estrangement, even temporarily ; but if 
it must be, if I cannot act with you and preserve my faith 
and my honor, I will stand on the great principle of popular 

'Sheahan, 326. * Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 231. 



Leader of the RepuJblican Party in Illinois 203 

sovereignty, which declares the right of all people to be left 
perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institu- 
tions in their own way. I will follow that principle wherever 
its logical consequences may take me, and I will endeavor to 
defend it against assault from any and all quarters. No 
mortal man shall be responsible for my action but myself." ^ 

The former distinction of Douglas as a slave advocate 
made his seeming accession to the ranks of its opponents all 
the more marked. Stirring stories were told of his peerless 
courage when Buchanan told him to remember that no Demo- 
crat ever yet differed from an administration of his own 
choice without being crushed, and to beware of the fate of 
Tallmadge and Rives. 

"Mr. President," retorted Douglas, "I wish you to remem- 
ber that General Jackson is dead." ^ Like an undaunted 
Abolitionist he flung aside all compromise, refused to accede 
to the English bill that many administration opponents wel- 
comed as an exit from the dilemma of party recusancy. Many 
began to believe that Douglas was about to turn into a black 
Republican. He had stolen conferences with their leaders, 
inducing them to believe that it was policy for him to con- 
ceal his present real intention; that he would soon unmask 
himself and fight their battles. He often said that he had 
checked all his baggage and taken a through ticket.^ 

He convinced his foes that the Nebraska bill was a daring 

device in behalf of freedom. One Republican said that the 

plan of Douglas for destroying the Missouri line and thereby 

opening the way for the march of freedom beyond the limits 

forever prohibited and conceded to belong to the Slave 

States, and its march westward, from the British possessions 

to Mexico, struck him "as the most magnificent scheme ever 

« Shcahan, 319. ' Lamon, 390. 

• Nicolay & Hay, 2, 120. 



9,04} Lincoln the Politician 

conceived by the human mind." This kind of conversation 
made the deepest impression upon his hearers, and often 
changed their opinion of the man.^ 

In this way, Douglas triumphantly vindicated his policy 
of popular sovereignty for which he protested he was willing 
to devote all his talent and the remainder of his life. The 
very prospect of such a convert dazzled the vision of even 
radicals like Greeley. So these visionaries wandered in the 
dreamland of politics, and were eager to enter into an un- 
holy alliance. Even shrewd leaders in the party built bridges 
for the entering of Douglas. It was rumored that Seward 
and others were in the plot.^ 

A letter from Herndon in 1858 vividly shows the political 
condition of this time. Speaking of Greeley he said, "He 
evidently wants Douglas sustained and sent back to the 
Senate. He did not say so in so many words, yet his feel- 
ings are with Douglas. I know it from the spirit and drift 
of his conversation. He talked bitterly — somewhat so — 
against the papers in Illinois, and said they were fools. I 
asked him this question, 'Greeley, do you want to see a third 
party organized, or do you want Douglas to ride to power 
through the North, which he has so much abused and be- 
trayed.'" and to which he replied, 'Let the future alone; it 
will all come right. Douglas is a brave man. Forget the 
past and sustain the righteous.' Good God, righteous, 
eh ! . . . By-the-bye, Greeley remarked to me this, 'The Re- 
publican standard is too high ; we want something practical.' 
. . . The Northern Men are cold to me — somewhat repel- 
lant." i« 

Douglas, after a heroic combat with the administration 
and after his triumphant championship of the rights of the 
people of Kansas, returned as a conqueror to Illinois. He 

*Lamon, 390-391. « Herndon, 1, 395. ^' Ibid., 2, 63-64. 



Leader of the Republican Party in Illi/nois 205 

was the ideal of the Democrats of his state, save of a few 
office holders under Buchanan. With Lincoln it was other- 
wise. Despite his brilliant and consecrated service to the 
Republican principles, even in Illinois, in the home of his 
friends, all was not yet serene; he was not yet to taste the 
sweetness of hero worship. Too proud to resort to dramatic 
effects, slow to express his resentment, he was almost jealous 
of the supremacy of his rival. A veteran in the service of 
freedom, he hardly welcomed the possible entrance of his old 
foe into the Republican arena. Mingled with personal feel- 
ing, was his knowledge of the crafty career of his opponent. 
Lincoln was not content that Douglas should gain the laurel 
of a triumphant movement in the hour of victory. 

Not alone did Lincoln fear dissension in his own state, 
but he was also afraid that Douglas might be taken up by 
the Republican leaders of the party. He grew restless and 
gloomy at the unjust attitude of Greeley, an attitude that 
quite vanquished him. To Hemdon he unburdened himself, 
"I think Greeley is not doing me right. His conduct, I be- 
lieve, savors a little of injustice. I am a true Republican and 
have been tried already in the hottest part of the anti-slavery 
fight, and yet I find him taking up Douglas, a veritable 
dodger, — once a tool of the South, now its enemy, — and 
pushing him to the front. He forgets that when he does 
that he pulls me down at the same time. I fear Greeley's 
attitude will damage me with Sumner, Seward, Wilson, Phil- 
lips and other friends in the East." ^^ 

He had slowly gained the confidence, more than he realized, 
of the rank of his party. Though loyalty to him was less 
pretentious, it was not the less sincere. The Republicans 
in Illinois did not trust Douglas; they were not deceived 
by his marvelous strategy. Pursuant to a wide spread sen- 

" Hemdon, 2, 60. 



206 Lincoln the Politician 

timent, the Republican state convention, with unanimity 
adopted the significant resolution: "That Hon. Abraham 
Lincoln is our first and only choice for United States Sena- 
tor to fill the vacancy about to be created by the expiration 
of Mr. Douglas' term of office." ^^ 

One incident shows the enthusiasm of the hour. Cook 
County brought a banner into the convention inscribed, 
"Cook County for Abraham Lincoln." A delegate from an- 
other county proposed to amend the banner by substituting 
for "Cook County" the word "Illinois." "The Cook delega- 
tion promptly accepted the amendment, and during a hur- 
ricane of hurrahs, the banner was altered to express the 
sentiment of the whole Republican party of the State." ^* 

"Herndon, 2, 65. 
" TarbeU, 1, 305. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE DAWN OF NATIONAI. LEADERSHIP 

T N anticipation of his nomination as Senator, Lincoln had 
"*■ carefully prepared an address of acceptance. It was de- 
livered on the 17th of June, 1858, in the presence of an 
immense audience at Springfield. At the time, it was per- 
haps the most radical speech that had yet burst forth from 
a Republican statesman. It is not strange that it astounded 
his friends. It baffled their comprehension to find him at a 
single stride in the front rank of the radicals. Herndon, 
the aggressive abolitionist, was alike bewildered, saying of 
the first paragraph that it was true ; but asking if it was 
entirely politic to read or speak it as it was written. Lin- 
coln said that it made no difference; that it was a truth of 
all human experience ; that he wanted to use some universally 
known figure, expressed in simple language as universally 
known that might strike home to the minds of men, in order 
to rouse them to the peril of the times ; that he would rather 
be defeated with that expression in the speech, and have it 
held up and discussed before the people, than to be vic- 
torious without it.^ 

Lamon questioned whether Lincoln had a clear right to 
indulge in such a venture, as a representative party man in 
a close contest, having other interests than his own in charge, 
and bound to respect the opinions, and secure the success 
of his party. Lamon states that at the Bloomington Con- 

^Lamoiij 397. 

207 



208 Lvncol/n the Politician 

vention he uttered the same ideas in almost the same words; 
and their recognition of a state of incipient civil war in a 
country for the most part profoundly peaceful, — these, and 
the bloody work which might come of their acceptance by a 
great party, had filled the minds of some of his hearers 
with the most painful apprehensions ; the theory was equally 
shocking to them, whether as partisans or as patriots- 
Begged to suppress such speech in the future, he vindicated 
his utterance, but after much persuasion, promised at length 
not to repeat it.^ 

The night before its delivery, at a gathering of his close 
friends, Lincoln slowly read the first paragraph. No uncer- 
tain, unsparing criticisms followed. It was called "a fool 
utterance," ahead of the time, a statement that would 
frighten many voters.^ Only one auditor, his partner, ap- 
proved the far-reaching statement, saying, "Lincoln, deliver 
it just as it reads. It is in advance of the times, let us — 
you and I, if no one else — lift the people to the level of 
this speech now, higher hereafter. The speech is true, wise 
and politic, and will succeed now or in the future. Nay, it 
will aid you, if it will not make you President of the United 
States." 

Then Lincoln rose from his chair, walked backwards and 
forwards in the hall, stopped and said that he had thought 
about the matter a great deal, had weighed the question 
from all corners, and was thoroughly convinced the time had 
come when it should be uttered ; and that if he must go down 
because of that speech, he would go down linked to truth, 
and would say again and again that the nation could not 
live on injustice.* 

This speech stands alone among American orations. Cap- 
tivating in its logic, marvellous in its directness, condensed 
" Lamon, 397-398. » Herndon, 2, 68. * Lamon, 399, 



The Dawn of Natioiwl Leadership 209 

in utterance, it is as true to Lincoln as the reply to Hayne 
was to Webster. It is one of the most momentous addresses 
in American history. It became the angry battle ground of 
local and general campaigns. It directed the issues of na- 
tional parties. In a transitional period with the hand of 
genius it peerlessly traced party demarcation lines. For the 
moment in advance of the national progress it soon became 
the very gospel of multitudes, the war cry of the friends of 
the Union. Plainer to the average man than the fine phrase 
of Seward as to "the irrepressible conflict," it brought home 
to the daily worker the issues of the hour, put him face to 
face with the deep meaning of the whole struggle going on 
in his very presence. Its strength was in this — that it put 
in clear speech the question that was agitating the common 
mind and thus gave it form and being before other men. 
With prophetic solemnity he indulged in the philosophic 
utterance that the slavery agitation would not cease until a 
crisis should be reached and passed, saying: "'A house di- 
vided against itself cannot stand.' I believe this government 
cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do 
not expect the Union to be dissolved, — I do not expect the 
house to fall; but I do expect that it will cease to be divided. 
It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the 
opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, 
and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief 
that it is the course of ultimate distinction, or its advocates 
will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all 
the states, — old as well as new. North as well as South." ^ 

Lincoln in the loneliness of his soul passed upon the solemn 
issue that the hour for speech and action had come ; that 
the time of compromise was over; that justice would no 
longer be trifled with; that the law of humanity spurned 

'Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 240. 



210 Lincoln the Politician 

further outrage. He gave voice to the hitherto silent senti- 
ments of many. The period for the judicious utterance of 
radical truth had come. In a few years what then seemed 
the outburst of a perverted attitude became the common 
thought of the multitude. 

And so again Lincoln showed his keen sense of the drift 
of events. In this he was wiser than the pure politicians. 
When events justified his foresight, some were found who 
cherished the notion that Lincoln was guided by self-seeking 
motives in his radical advocacy. Two biographers think that 
Lincoln was quietly dreaming of the Presidency, and edging 
himself to a place in advance, where the tide might take him 
up in 1860 ; that as sectional animosities, far from subsiding, 
were growing deeper and stronger with time, Lincoln knew 
that the next nominee of the exclusively Northern party must 
be a man of radical views, and so the speech was intended 
to take the wind out of Seward's sails.® 

The biographer who sees a plotting, scheming Lincoln 
in all this is far from understanding the real man. For 
mingled with his political sagacity was a sublime communion 
with the mighty spirit of world justice. Elated at the ap- 
proaching clash of freedom and slavery, believing that out 
of the conflict would come a better humanity, he rejoicingly 
dwelt in the pure realm of the unfettered utterance of a 
truth, far above the stifling valley of commonplace diplo- 
macy. To liim it was a rare moment of utter freedom with- 
out calculation, moving through regions of unclouded jus- 
tice and righteous outlook. 

Criticism bitter and biting of political friends did not 

shake his serenity or his belief in his diagnosis of the national 

disease. He lived so long with the solution, that he showed 

the calmness of a historian in judging passing events. Slow 

*Lamon, 40C. 



The Dawn of National Leadership 211 

to value highly his own service, he was proudly aware of the 
intrinsic worth of this utterance. To a friend who said 
that the foolish speech would kill him, Lincoln replied that 
if he had to draw a pen across, and erase his whole life from 
existence, and he had one poor gift or choice left, as to what 
he would save from the wreck, he would choose that speech, 
and leave it to the world unerased.' 

Withal, the speech was wisely framed. It aroused the fear 
of the Northerners with the statement that they would lie 
down pleasantly dreaming that the people of Missouri were 
on the verge of making their State free, and they would 
awake to the reality instead that the Supreme Court had 
made Illinois a slave state.® The dread that slavery might 
invade the free States of the North, as it ceased to be some- 
thing more than a possibility, haunted and horrified the 
North. Some who bore with complacency the servitude of the 
black men in the distance fumed with anger as they con- 
templated even a prospect of a closer relation of the insti- 
tution. Thus the self interest of the North was played upon. 
This practical danger more than all abstract arguments 
awakened free communities. Douglas saw the danger of this 
appeal. He could no longer hold North and South. It put 
him on the defensive. Lincoln forced the fighting. It be- 
came necessary for Douglas to make the speech of Lincoln 
the basis of his discussion. 

Lincoln weighed his speech at its soul value, and measured 
its truth and worth in lonely struggle. No counsel could 
stay his purpose. He had come upon another crisis in his 
career. He could no longer compromise with himself in 
safety, the hour of decision could not be delayed. He faced 
defeat in all its darkness but afar he saw the star of simple 
duty. If he had faltered or cringed he might have become 

'Lamon, 407. 'Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 244, 



212 Lincoln the Politician 

Senator, but that distinction only would have crowned him. 
He had the rare perception of knowing when to be firm as 
the earth beneath, of distinguishing between policy and prin- 
ciple, of ever keeping his integrity unsullied by barter or bar- 
gain. It is noteworthy that the very speech, politicians 
deemed the graveyard of his career in reality became his 
apotheosis. The politician of Illinois became a national 
leader. From that time, he loomed large in the history of 
the Republican party and was regarded as wise in counsel 
and brave in speech. Before Seward, he put in concrete 
utterance the very philosophy of Republicanism. And that 
party had reason to regard him with favor as a possible 
guide in the gathering contest. 

This speech gave Lincoln a prominence that led to the 
dramatic debates with Douglas and that fastened the atten- 
tion of the nation on the combat. The Lincoln-Douglas 
controversy was the fruition of this Springfield speech. This 
address is the most fitting line of demarcation between Lin- 
coln the Citizen of Illinois and Lincoln the Citizen of the 
United States. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE POLITICAL, PHILOSOPHY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

rr^HE political condition of a nation is a symptom of its 
-■■ health or disease. Official corruption is an unfailing 
sign of national degeneration. Art, science and commerce 
may thrive, yet if dishonesty and selfishness rule in the ad- 
ministration of public affairs, there is no substantial 
progress. The real civilization of a nation can advance little 
beyond the state of public service. When citizens are in- 
different to the general welfare, when the rights of the many 
are entrusted to the designing, when talent is dedicated to 
the acquisition of wealth or the mere promotion of art, then 
in spite of mountain high learning and world wide commer- 
cial prosperity, a nation is in the domain of danger. 

A crisis reveals the potency of the politician and states- 
man. When war or internal conflict shows its "wrinkled 
front," then the merchant, the manufacturer, the artist, and 
the scientist forget their pride. The true politician is the 
incarnation of civil patriotism and guards the nation during 
the long days of peace, with an unfailing heroism like that 
of the soldier in the sudden test of war. The devotion of 
the civil hero is not spectacular and is often undervalued. 
The whole history of humanity has been a giant effort to 
beget a democracy where the genius of the few shall become 
the possession of many. When a nation cannot command 
the best heart and brain of its citizens for its service it is 
bankrupt. 

213 



214 Lincoln the Politician 

The problem of Democratic government is the maintenance 
of a just balance between the radical and conservative ele- 
ments of society, between anarchy and apathy. American 
history was for a long time largely a struggle between vis- 
ionary abolitionist and slavery adherent. Northern reform- 
ers turned all Southerners into vigorous advocates of human 
bondage, while Southern radicals finally abolitionized the 
North. Slaveholders were the children of a long estab- 
lished selfish interest. Abolitionists were possessed of a 
vision. Neither understood the other. Rock and cloud were 
not more unlike. Each saw only the injustice in the oppos- 
ing position, and had no charity for the environment and 
traditions of the other. There could be no compromise be- 
tween a Wendell Phillips and a Preston Brooks. War was 
the only solution. 

Statesmanship looks to the preservation of the primal prin- 
ciples of the Republic, favors the general welfare whenever 
circumstances permit, seeks its progressive evolution, en- 
courages prudent reform, a reform that is not the parent of 
reaction. It avoids alike the radicalism of the demagogue 
and the stagnation of the materialist. While stupid con- 
servatism is unwittingly the main friend of anarchy, states- 
manship is its chief foe. The stability of the Republic de- 
pends on wise leadership, courageous enough to combat vio- 
lence on the one hand and greed on the other. 

Egoism and foolish fears are the chief obstacles of human 
progress. Self interest being the main source of human ac- 
tion, it is the problem of the politician to quicken the public 
conscience and convince the community that advancement 
and enlightened selfishness are companions. Altruism is a 
large factor in human evolution, yet not so basic that it may 
be made the foundation of abiding government. It is a high 
mission to lead the people to the conception of making self 



The Political Philosophy of Abraham Lincoln 215 

interest an every day servant of the general welfare. 

Expediency is as essential to the triumph of right as to 
that of wrong. Cunning materialism may vanquish virtue 
that is a stranger to wisdom, but prudent integrity never 
knows final defeat. The following of visions without purpose 
is as vain as the worship of debasing worldliness. Politics 
is a larger phase of life than the idealist comprehends, while 
ideas are more dominant than politicians dream. 

In an ideal state diplomats would be no more essential 
than the physician, lawyer, jurist and minister. Compro- 
mise finds its basis in human weakness, conservatism and 
selfishness. The history of humanity is written in blood 
and tears largely because men have been prone to passion 
and prejudice rather than true to reason and judgment. 
Politics is the art of securing results in government. It is 
a study of success applied to legislation and administration. 

There are few problems of larger moment than the gen- 
eral acceptance of the wisest policy in combating established 
and organized evil. Civilization itself depends on the man- 
ner in which the unresting battle between the constructive 
and destructive forces in society is conducted and decided. 
Mighty empires have flourished and fallen, democracies have 
sprung to life and decayed, dauntless protesters have sacri- 
ficed on the altar of conviction, even nations under the 
spirit of high impulses have for a short time followed the 
banner of the brotherhood of man. Yet in spite of ages 
of progress, of heroic martyrdom, the battle is still of the 
same character as the conflict was on the plains of Palestine, 
the banks of the Nile and the seven hills of Rome. Human 
nature has changed largely in outer manifestations, not in 
essential character. The selfishness of man, vested interests, 
fear of change, still stand in the way of righteous reforms, 
which are now as bitterly contested as they were by the patri- 



216 Lmcoln the Politician 

cians of Latium and the barons of the middle ages. In the 
conflicts of centuries good men have sunk sometimes in a 
fearless, sometimes in an imprudent encounter with the host 
of cohesive and malignant interests. Selfish motives unite 
the supporters of evil, while the forces of righteousness are 
often discordant and rent with civil feuds. Economic inter- 
est is the influence that makes evil gregarious. 

Lincoln conceived his plan of warfare on the organized 
evil of his time in wisdom. He attacked it at its weakest 
point, its injustice and its bad policy. He made it not only 
an ethical issue, but an economic one as well. He under- 
stood that reform must be founded on self interest as well 
as on justice. He fought the evil and not the wrong doer. 
He was aware of the influence of environment on the opin- 
ions of men whenever property rights were involved and so 
would not exact nor expect too much of the individual. He 
did not favor premature reform, knowing that it was not 
permanent. A foe to slavery, yet for a long time he was 
not a friend of abolitionism. He longed for the emancipa- 
tion of the black man, yet would not buy it by attacks on 
the Constitution or on the compromises of the statesmen 
of the Republic. 

He admitted the evil of slavery, yet recognized the insti- 
tution as far as the law sanctioned its existence. So he would 
fight its transfer to new territory where it had no legal right 
of entrance. He would circumscribe and starve it, would 
favor compensated emancipation, and thus slowly and safely 
eradicate the evil from the nation. His political philosophy 
is worthy of the study of every citizen, patriot and reformer, 
of every man who believes in the dawn of better ages. His 
greatness consists in never having relinquished his lofty ideal 
in all of the materialism of daily compromise, and in never 
forgetting charity, justice and policy in his communion with 



The Political Philosophy of Abraham Lincoln 217 

world-shaking ideas. 

No man in history longed for the triumph of justice more 
earnestly than Abraham Lincoln. He hated evil. Still his 
main purpose was the preservation of the principles of the 
republic. Rather than endanger them, the larger good, he 
would hesitate to begin a campaign against organized selfish- 
ness. Such battles for humanity require good generalship 
as well as those of cannon, fife and drum. It is not enough to 
hate evil, to strike at it in the dark. To husband strength, 
to bide the time, to await the solemn moment for attack, is 
political generalship, a generalship that is as essential in 
the Senate as on the battlefield. 

He was willing to engage in the hard mission of educating 
men to believe that brotherhood was a more substantial foun- 
dation for humanity than hatred and selfishness. There 
was nothing of Don Quixote in his warfare. Democracy was 
his religion, the source of his strength and the secret of his 
influence. All that he was, he largely owed to the privileges 
of the Republic, to the support of the plain people. He be- 
lieved in them with a rare faith and they trusted him with 
remarkable fidelity, as the incarnation of the higher hu- 
manity. He was in harmony with the onward movement of 
sanity, justice and manhood. Charity to all was his plat- 
form, justice his program, democracy his guide. His spirit 
is the spirit of the new age. He almost marks as distin- 
guished an advance in American history as Moses did in that 
of Israel. 

The politician blindly follows, while the statesman wisely 
educates public sentiment. In his political philosophy Lin- 
coln gave due weight to the potency of the general opinion 
of mankind. He said, "He who molds public sentiment goes 
deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. 
He makes statutes or decisions possible or impossible to be 



218 Lmcoln the Politician 

executed." He well knew the principle, so paltrily recog- 
nized, by even modern legislators, that it is far more vital 
to prepare the public mind for righteous legislation than 
prematurely to pass laws. It would be well to write his 
supreme statement relating to public sentiment in every 
legislative hall and judicial tribunal in the whole land. An 
educated public sentiment will soon enough secure the pas- 
sage of appropriate legislation, and what is more essential, 
see to it that it is enforced. The curse of American politics 
is the passage of multitudinous enactments to please certain 
organized interests and the deliberate indifference, if not hos- 
tility, of public sentiment to their subsequent enforcement. 
The problem will be far from settled until fewer laws are 
passed, and such enactments are religiously enforced. Lin- 
coln would not aid in the passage of a law not intended to 
be enforced or incapable in the common course of events of 
being substantially enforced, and he recognized that legis- 
lation should be a practical science based on the actual 
character, the ability of a people to move forward. Fro- 
ward reform is almost as pernicious as selfish conservatism. 

So complete was Lincoln's mastery over the masses that 
many have misunderstood the power of his genius as merely 
following public opinion. He did infinitely more. He studied 
the capacity of men for progress, slowly leading them to the 
higher altitude. Lincoln recognized the limitations of aver- 
age human advance ; that the mind and heart move slowly in 
the march of centuries. He worked with the materials at 
hand and builded on the solid foundation of the real national 
character. He did not stand in the direct way of events, 
still he deemed it a duty ever to guide them toward the goal 
of an advancing civilization. 

The attitude of Lincoln to party organization is of com- 
manding interest. There was no more valiant, earnest worker 



The Political Philosophy of Abraham Lincoln 219 

in the Whig ranks. None can question his devotion to the 
routine, burdensome labor of the campaign. In making 
speeches, in writing platforms, in arranging meetings, in is- 
suing circulars, and in the tiring work at the polls, he was 
a persistent toiler, a loyal partisan. In the Legislature he 
usually voted with his associates. He often sought to 
strengthen the party in the selection of office holders. 

He beHeved in organized political action. He remained 
a trusted leader in the party of his choice, seldom alienating 
himself from the party managers, or the rank and file. Still 
he was no slave of party or caucus. His party, town or 
state, could not buy or bribe his integrity, or get him to be 
false to his duty. He believed that parties were useful to 
democratic government as long as they were substantially in 
harmony with its deeper objects. Still he did not deem them 
sacred, and when circumstances demanded, favored their dis- 
solution, and the organization of new parties. He was one 
of the few politicians in American history who acted on the 
conviction that the man who served his state best, best 
served his party. Having no sympathy with anarchy in poli- 
tics, he gave full value to the importance of the organiza- 
tion, but did not exalt it into an object of adoration. Above 
it, he placed loyalty to the Constitution and the fathers of 
the country. He was neither mugwump nor partisan. 

There are two classes of men, materialists and visionaries. 
The materialist is a slave to the fact. He is so intent on 
the earth that he seldom enjoys a glimpse of star or con- 
stellation. Still he is a student of methods and results, a 
worshipper of success, and hence he is generally in the ascend- 
ancy. The visionary is a slave to his ideal, he looks at the 
world as it should be and not as it is. While he gazes at 
the sunset and the evening star he falls in the pit at his 
feet. He resembles the mariner of Heine : 



220 Lincoln the Politician 

"A wonderful lovely maiden, 

Sits high in her glory there, 
Her robe with gems is laden. 

And she combeth her golden hair. 
And as she combs it, 

The gold comb glistens. 
The while she is singing a song. 

That hath a mystical sound and a wonderful 
melody. 
The boatman when once she has bound him, 

Is lost in wild mad love. 
He sees not the black rocks around him. 

He sees but the beauty above." 

The real leaders in the world's history have been idealists 
of high practical wisdom. They have been the captains, not 
the subjects of their ideal. The petty politician rules for 
the day. The men who dominate the ages give substance to 
shadow, make the dream of one day the reality of another, 
crystallize the yearnings of humanity into statute and de- 
cision. 

The world is used to the omnipresent politician. The 
visionary, the undaunted reformer, is not an infrequent par- 
ticipant in the domain of affairs. The political idealist, with 
the judgment of the one and the inspiration of the other, is 
so rare that he confounds by his presence. The combination 
astounds the generation unaccustomed to such a phenomenon. 
The man of high endowments is stupidly expected to be want- 
ing in worldliness, and the practical representative of the 
people in the vision. The solution of all political problems 
depends on political sagacity illumined with altruism. The 
political idealist consummates the alliance of vision with 
method. 



The Political Philosophy of Abraham Lincoln 221 

Lincoln was neither idealist nor politician. With the ideal- 
ist he was faithful to the vision, with the politician he studied 
the way to success. He was not lost in mere adoration of 
the ideal; was not content until it became a reality. He 
blended the enthusiasm of the visionary with the wisdom of 
the politician. He was the ideal politician. 

Lincoln was the prophet politician of his time, blending 
the righteousness of the Hebraic seer with political sagacity. 
He faced failure imperiously. He was never finally van- 
quished. He looked beyond temporary triumph to ultimate 
consequences. Despite setback, disaster and every obstacle, 
he had abounding faith in the abiding triumph of justice. 

He knew the shortcomings of human nature, the painful, 
sluggard progress of moral evolution. He weighed men as 
they were and not as he wished them to be. Hence, he was 
patient with their failings. He made ample allowance for 
the heavy hand of habit, for ancestral, religious, political, 
social and industrial environment. That men were largely 
the children of their time was to him an ever present truth. 
Cooperation not antagonism was his method of achievement. 
He would not force progress and he recognized the sway of 
the grim law of necessity. He measured the labored march 
of public sentiment. He waited the slow processes of time ; 
was no believer in magical reforms or quack political reme- 
dies. He did not squander his energies in the wonderland 
of dreams. He is the wisest politician in American history, 
consummate in his strategy for the general welfare, the su- 
preme friend and champion of democracy and humanity. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Benton, Thomas H., Thirty years' view; or, a history of the 
working of the American government for thirty years, 
from 1820 to 1850. II v. New York, 1854.. 

Birbeck, Morris, Notes of a journey in America from the 
coast of Virginia to the territory of Illinois : with propo- 
sals for the establishment of a colony of English, accom- 
panied by a map illustrating the route to Dublin. Re- 
printed for Thomas Larkin, 1818. 

Brown, Samuel R., The Western Gazetteer. Auburn, N. Y., 
1817. 

Cartwright, Peter, Autobiography of Peter Cartwright, the 
backwoods preacher. Edited by W. P. Strickland. New 
York, 1856. 

Chittenden, L. E., Recollections of President Lincoln and 
his administration. New York, 1891. 

Collins, Lewis, History of Kentucky. S vols., Covington, Ky. 

Cox, Sanford C, Recollections of the early settlers of the 
Wabash Valley. Lafayette, Ind., 1860. 

Darbey, John F., Personal recollections of many prominent 
people whom I have known. St. Louis, 1880. 

Dillon, John B., History of Indiana from its earliest explora- 
tion by Europeans to the close of the territorial govern- 
ment in 1816, with historical notes of the discovery and 
settlement of the territory of the U. S. northwest of the 
River Ohio. I v. Indianapolis, 1843. 

Drake, Daniel, Pioneer life in Kentucky. Cincinnati, 1870. 

Ford, Thomas, History of Illinois. Chicago, 1854. 

223 



224 Bibliography 

Gilmore, James R., Personal recollections of Abraham Lin- 
coln and the Civil War. Boston, 1898. 

Goodrich & Tuttle, History of Indiana. Indianapolis, Ind., 
1875. 

Grant, U. S., Personal memoirs of. 2 volumes in one. New 
York, 1894. 

Greeley, Horace, The American conflict. Chicago, 1866. 

Herndon, William H., Herndon's Lincoln. 2 vols. New 
York, 1916. 

Illinois State Historical Society, Transactions of. Publica- 
tion No. VIII for the year 1900. Springfield, 111., 1900. 

Indiana Historical Society, Publications of. Indianapolis, 
1895. 

Johnson, Oliver, William Lloyd Garrison and his times. Bos- 
ton, 1880. 

Jones, N. E., The Squirrel Hunters of Ohio, or, glimpses of 
pioneer life. Cincinnati, 1898. 

Lamon, Ward H., The life of Abraham Lincoln. Boston, 
1872. 

Lovejoy, J. C, and Owen, Memoirs of the Rev. Elijah P. 
Lovejoy. New York, 1838. 

Macon County, Publications of. Philadelphia, 1879. 

Maltby, Charles, The life and public services of Abraham 
Lincoln. Stockton, Cal,, 1844. 

Martyn, W. C, Wendell Pliillips, the Agitator. 1890. 

McClure's Early Life of Abraham Lincoln, By Ida M. Tar- 
bell assisted by J. McCan Davis. New York, 1896. 

McLean County Historical Society, Transactions of. 3 vols. 
Bloomington, 111., 1899. 

Milburn, William Henry, Milburn on pioneer preachers. New 
York, 1860. 

Nicolay & Hay, Abraham Lincoln, a history by John G. 
Nicolay and John Hay. X v. New York, 1890. 



Bibliography 225 

John G. Nicolay and John Hay. Abraham Lincoln's com- 
plete works, comprising his speeches, letters, state papers 
and miscellaneous writings. Edited by John G. Nicolay 
and John Hay. II v. New York, 1902. 

Oldroyd, Osborn H., The Lincoln Memorial; collected and 
edited by Osborn H. Oldroyd. New York, 1882. 

Palmer, John M., Personal recollections of. Cincinnati, 
1901. 

Ranck, George W., History of Lexington, Ky. Cincinnati, 
1872. 

Rice, Allen Thorndike, Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln by 
distinguished men of his time. Collected and edited by 
Allen Thorndike Rice. Sixth Edition. New York, 1888. 

Ross, Harvey Lee, The early pioneers and pioneer events in 
the State of Illinois. Chicago, 1899. 

Sangamon County, History of Springfield. 1881. Inter 
State Pub. Co., Chicago. 

Shaler, N. S., History of Kentucky. American Common- 
wealth Series. Boston, 1895. 

Sheahan, James, The life of Stephen A. Douglas. New York, 
1860. 

Smith, William C, Indiana miscellany, containing sketches 
of Indian life, the early settlement, customs and hardships 
of the people, and the introduction of the gospel 
and schools, together with biographical notices of the 
pioneer Methodist preachers of the state. Cincinnati, 
1867. 

Smith, William Henry, History of the State of Indiana. 2d 
ed. II V. Western Pub. Co. Indianapohs, 1903. 

Stevens, Frank E., The Black Hawk War, including a review 
of Black Hawk's Life. Chicago, 1903. 

Stewart, James Hervey, Recollections of the early settlement 
of Carroll County, Indiana. Cincinnati, 1872. 



226 Bibliography 

Tarbell, Ida M., The Life of Abraham Lincoln. II v. New 

York, 1904. 
Warrick, Spencer and Perry Counties, Indiana. History of. 

Chicago, 1885. 
Whitney, Life on the Circuit with Lincoln. 



INDEX 



Abolitionists — Abolition Intelligen- 
cer, 35; brute force dooms slav- 
ery, 77-78; early western move- 
ments of, 35; favor emancipa- 
tion in District of Columbia, 
144-146; Garrisonian, 117; "Gen- 
ius," 35; Illinois, hated in, 76- 
78; political, 118-119; public 
service performed, 78. 

Adams, John Q., 22. 

Alton Observer, 83. 

American Government, Lincoln's 
Essay on, 28. 

American party, see Know-noth- 
ing party. 

American Preceptor, 35. 

Anti-slavery, see Slavery. 

Armstrong, Jack, 43-44, 46. 

Atchison, D. R., 158. 

Baker, Col. E. D., 90, 96-98, 112- 

115, 121, 128, 138, 149. 
Battles, greatest, 161. 
Birney, James G., 118. 
Bissel, Gov., 195. 
Black Hawk War, 47. 
Bloomington Convention, 190-193. 
Brackenridge, John V., 31. 
Brooks, Preston S., 190. 
Browning, O. H., 90, 138. 
Buchanan, Pres. James, 194-195, 

201, 203-205. 
Burke, Edmund, 119. 
Butterfield, Justin, 149-150. 



Calhoun, John (111.), 55-56, 90-91, 
119. 

Calhoun, John C, 20, 116-117, 158. 

Campaign, 1834, in 111., 59. 

Campaign, 1836, in 111., 64. 

Campaign, 1838, in 111., 87-88. 

Campaign, national 1840, exuber- 
ant speech, 95-96. 

Campaign, national 1844, 116-120. 

Campaign, national 1848, 137-142. 

Campaign, national 1852, 155. 

Capitalists, 74. 

Cartwright, Rev. Peter, 124-127. 

Cass, Gen. Lewis, 138, 140. 

Chase, S. P., 145. 

Chatham, 119. 

Civilization, test of, 213. 

Clary Grove boys, 43-44, 50, 66-67. 

Clay, Henry, 18, 22, 34, 116-120, 
138, 153-155, 159; colonization 
proposal, 154-155; tribute to 
in defeat, 120. 

Clinton, De Witt, 23-24. 

Columbian orator, 35. 

Compromise, 147; slavery not set- 
tled by, 158. 

Compromise measures, 1850, 152. 

Convention system, 110-111. 

Darbey, J. F., 141. 
Davis, Judge David, 180. 
Dawson, 60. 

Democratic Party — Anti-Nebras- 
ka Democrats, 190; banks, hos- 



227 



228 



Index 



tilityto,105; New Salem Dem- 
ocrats work for Lincoln, 54- 
65 \ Northern complicity in 
crime of Kansas, 201-203; 
Northern repudiate Kansas 
crime, 202; Northern resent 
Southern support of Taylor, 
144; patriotic minority in 1854, 
165-166; run Lincoln as can- 
didate in 1834, 58. 

Democracy, political religion of 
Lincoln, 217. 

Dixon, Archibald, 158. 

Douglas, Fred, 20, 35. 

Douglas, Stephen A., See Lincoln, 
— Buchanan, braves, 203; con- 
queror, returns as in 1858, 
204-205; debate, defeats Ew- 
ing in, 97; debate, Whig's 
challenge to, 90; Democratic 
administration fights, 202-203; 
howled down in Chicago, 162; 
judiciary reorganized, 100- 
101; Kansas issue, not the au- 
thor of, 157-158; Lincoln, de- 
bates with, 92, 97-99, 119, 170- 
175, 211; Missouri Compro- 
mise, 167-168; patriot, not hu- 
manitarian, 159 ; Republican 
leaders coquette with, 203- 
204; senate, Anti-slavery lead- 
ers in, confounded by, 170; 
State Fair speech, 162-163; 
Supreme Court, Jackson's at- 
tack on, 199. 

Dred Scott decision. See Lincoln. 

Dueling, 105. 

Economic interest, 216. 
Edwards, Cyrus, angry at Lincoln, 

149-150. 
Emancipation, gradual, 147. 



Emancipation proclamation, 86. 
Emancipation, race, 85. 
Erie Canal, 22-23. 
Ewing, W. L. D., 73. 
Ewing, Gen. John, 97. 

Fillmore, Pres. Millard, 150, 194. 

Ford, Gov., 69-70. 

Forquer's lightning rod, 67-68. 

Franklin, 199. 

Free Soil men, 142-143. 

Freemont, J. C, 193-195. 

Garrison, W. L., 173, 185. 

Gentry, Allen, 34. 

Gentryville, Ind., people of, 31-32. 

Giddings, J. R., 145. 

Gillespie, Joseph, 106. 

Graham, Minter, 42, 55. 

Great Britain, 117. 

Great Debate, The, 91. 

Greeley, 127, 133, 204-205. 

Grigsby, Nat., Story of, 119. 

Grigsbys, fight with, 32-33. 

Hardin, John J., 112, 115, 121- 

124, 128. 
Harrison, Pres. W. H., 90, 95-96. 
Head, Jesse, 19. 
Heine's, Lorelei, 219, 220. 
Henry, Patrick, 119. 
Herndon, W. H., 82, 109-112, 131- 

132, 156, 163-165, 177, 188, 

192-193, 204, 207-208. 
Herndon, Rowan, 45. 

Ideals, political, 219-220. 

Illinois — Abolitionism, hated in, 
76; Abolition societies, early 
in, 35; Black code of, 76; ju- 
diciary in politics, 100-102. 

Indiana— Gentryville, 31-32; inter- 



Index 



229 



nal improvement policy, 22- 
24; pioneer politics, 21-23; 
Spencer Country, 21, 24; Stat- 
utes revised, 28, 30. 

Injustice, nation cannot live on, 
208. 

Internal improvement policy, 22- 
24, 68-69, 89. 

Jackson, Andrew, 22, 34, 50, 5Q, 
117, 124-125, 141, 199. 

Jayne, William, 176. 

Jefferson, 17, 154, 199. 

Johnston, John, step-brother of 
Lincoln, 30, 32. 

Judicial system of 111. prey of 
partisanship, 100-102. 

Kansas, Neb. struggle, 181-183, 
189, 201-204; crisis, national, 
marked by, 182; Lecomptou 
Ck)nstitution, 202; violence be- 
gets violence, 189. 

Kentucky — ^ Abolitionism, 18, 35; 
Anti-federalist, 17; frontier 
life, 15-17; law-abiding, 16-17; 
-passion for politics, 17; pio- 
neer hardships, 16; schools, 16; 
slavery, 18. 

Know-nothing party, 190; seek 
Lincoln, 182; opposed by Lin- 
coln, 185, 187. 

Labor, Lincoln sympathizes with, 
135-136; grapple with slavery, 
182. 

Lambourn, Josiah, 90. 

Lamon, W. H., 93, 100, 102, 109- 
110, 163, 192, 207-208, 210. 

Legislature 111. in 1834, 60-61 ; cor- 
ruption in, 126. 

Liberty men, 118. 



Lincoln, Abraham, — 
Abolitionist, not, 41. 
Ambition, 53-54, 109-110. 
American Government, essay on, 

28. 
Ancestry, 15. 
Aristocrat, charged with being, 

113-114. 
Armstrong, Jack, fight with, 43- 

44. 
Athlete, 36, 44. 
Bargain with Democrats in 1834, 

58. 
Black Hawk War, 47-49. 
Campaign, 1840, active for Gen. 

Harrison, 96. 
Campaign, 1844; enthusiastic for 

Clay, 119; speaks in Indiana, 

119. 
Campaign, 1848, 137-142; strong 

for Taylor, 137-138: speaks in 

New England, 142. 
Campaign, 1852; colorless, 155. 
Campaign, 1856, received flatter- 
ing vote for vice-presidency 

in Republican convention, 193; 

great demand for as speaker, 

193-194. 
Campaign, purse returned by, 87- 

88. 
Capitalists, comment on, 74. 
Capitol removed from Vandalia 

to Springfield, 70-71. 
Captain, elected in Black Hawk 

War, 47-48. 
Clary Grove boys, the, 43-44. 
Clay, Henry — admirer of, 119; 

opposed to in 1848 campaign, 

138; tribute to at deatli, 153- 

155. 
Colonization proposal of Clay — 

approved by, 154-155. 



^30 



Index 



Congress, candidate for, in 1843 
— bargain as to nomination at 
Pekin Convention, 121; de- 
feated by Baker, 113-115; ex- 
planation of his defeat, 114- 
115; Hardin defeated by for 
the nomination in 1846, 121- 
124; elected in 1846, defeating 
Cartwright, 126-127. 

Congress, in, — anti-slavery rad- 
ical resolution opposes, 144; 
anti-slavery bill skillfully in- 
troduces, 144-145; democratic 
postmaster general supports, 
135; internal improvement pol- 
icy approves, 136-137; Mexican 
War, attitude to, 127-134; 
Mexican War policy, hateful 
to constituents, 131, 151; 
speech. Campaign, 139; "Spot 
resolutions," 130, 151; training 
in, 151; war of aggression, op- 
poses, 129-134; Wilmot Pro- 
viso, votes for, 144. 

Conservative radical, 79. 

Convention system, favors, 110- 
111. 

Court trial, attended by, 31. 

Debater, — convincing, 141-143; 
demagogue, exposes, 88; fair- 
ness in debate, 66; skill in, 
175; youthful, 31, 47. 

Douglas — followed with facts, 
98-99; match for, 175; popular 
sovereignty doctrine crushed, 
171-172; sought by Lincoln in 
debate, 91-92; sophistry of ex- 
posed, 170; State fair speech, 
repHed to, 163; truce tendered 
Lincoln, 174-175. 

Declaration of Independence — 
not a lie, 174, 199-200. 



Deist, charged with being, 115, 
126. 

Demagogue, exposed by, 88. 

Democrats — bargain with, 58 ; 
charges with having vulnerable 
heels, 92; popular with, 54. 

Democracy, faith in, 63-64. 

Disappointments, familiar with, 
54. 

Diplomacy, 74-75. 

Dred Scott Decision, 197-200; 
Lincoln's opposition to, 198- 
199; weakened respect for Su- 
preme Court, 198. 

Drink, does not, 87. 

Duality of his life, 35-36. 

Duels — Ewing with, 73; Shields 
with, 104-105. 

Education — books that mould his 
political opinions, 28-30; early, 
19-20; law, studies, 56; learn- 
ing, love of, 27; legislature in, 
60-61; libraries, haunts, 161; 
method of, 26-27; practical for 
leadership, 36-38; subjective, 
27, 36; Weeras' Life of Wash- 
ington, 29. 

Environment, 20, 32, 33; poverty 
of, 26, 26; Kentucky, 17-18. 

Fairness, 46. 

Federalist, 17. 

Financier— 69, 99 ; De Witt Clin- 
ton, aims to be of 111., 68; 
merchant, failure as, 45-46. 

Foresight — foresees slavery 
struggle, 47, 127, 132, 157, 172. 

Free Soil Men attacked, 142; 
converted, 143. 

Genius, towering and race eman- 
cipation, 85. 

Greatness, 216-217. 

Greeley corrected, 133. 



Index 



231 



Grigsbys, fight with, 32. 

Harrison, Gen. W. H., candidacy 
for presidency promoted, 90. 

Herndon, W. H., see Herndon 
above; letter to, 111-112. 

Hero of New Salem, 57. 

Honesty, 45. 

Horse races, judge at, 45. 

Humility— 50, 54, 91, 100; lesson 
in at murder trial, 31. 

Imagination, 139. 

Indian, protects old, 48-49. 

Internal improvements — public 
lands proceeds for, 61-63; per- 
sistent supporter of, 68, 69, 89, 
136-137. 

Judiciary — function of, 198-199; 
Jackson's attitude to, 199; op- 
poses political interference 
with by legislature, 101 ; speaks 
bitterly of relation to slavery, 
156; war on Dred Scott deci- 
sion, 198-200. 

Justice, nation cannot exist on 
injustice, 208; negro, to, 170; 
south, to, 168-169. 

Kindness, 46-47. 

Know-nothingism, 184-185, 187, 
190; proscriptive principles op- 
posed, 187. 

Labor — sympathy for, 135-136 ; 
laborer, 44; farmer, 44. 

Law — reverence for, 198; stud- 
ies, 56. 

Lawyer, dislike of details, 109. 

Lawmaking, skilled in, 61. 

Legislature, 1832, defeated for, 
55; 1834, elected to, 58; 1836, 
received highest vote for, in 
Sangamon County, 68; 1838, 
elected to, 87; 1838, candidate 
for speaker, 88; 1840, candi- 



date for speaker, 99; charges 
of corruption of Sangamon 
delegation, replies to, 73; 
jumps from window during 
session, 105-106; log-roller in, 
68; protest of 1837, 80; State 
debt, loose plan to pay, 99-100; 
summary of career, 107-108. 

Liberty men, satirizes, 118. 

Literary style — development of, 
27-28, 32; fanciful, 83-84, 92- 
94; scathing speech, 141; vul- 
gar satires, 32. 

Log-roller, 68. 

Love joy, Owen, writes to, 178. 

Maxims, 74. 

Mexican War— 127-134; 151. 

Mob spirit — 83; cure for, 84. 

Mother, 26. 

New England — speeches in, 142- 
143; Seward, meets in, 143. 

New Salem— 42-57; hero of, 57. 

New Orleans, sale of slave stirs 
Lincoln, 41. 

Office seeker, as, 149-150. 

Office seekers, unique recom- 
mendation of, 148. 

"Old Abe," 54. 

Oregon governorship refused by, 
150. 

Parliamentarian, smartest, 68. 

Partisan— 65-66; 110-112. 

Patriot— 72, 192-193; corrupt 
bargain, spurns, 71-72; fraud- 
ulent voting, opposes, 106; 
party spoils system, opposes, 
148; politician and patriot, 
72; political duty, 179-180; 
Trumbull's election, advises, 
179-180. 

Peace, friend of, 185. 

Peoria speech, 167-170. 



232 



Index 



Personal influence, 70-71. 

Physical strength, 44, 46. 

Pilot, 45. 

Political philosophy of, 213-221; 
brotherhood basis of progress, 
217; central idea of the repub- 
lic, 195; compromise when 
available, 147 ; compensated 
emancipation, 216; faith in tri- 
umph of justice, 221; laws of 
political progress, 216-218; leg- 
islation, 218; organized polit- 
ical action favored, 219; par- 
ties not sacred, 219; party 
power, 184; patient with frail- 
ty, 221; political generalship, 
217; public oflBce, public trust, 
107; public opinion, 218; revo- 
lution through ballot, 189-190; 
slavery, attacks at weakest 
point, 216; universal feeling, 
169; violence opposes, 189- 
190; works with men as they 
are, 221. 

Political strategy — adroitness 
with country editor, 176-177; 
anti-slavery bill in Congress, 
144-146; bargain with Demo- 
crats, in 1834, 58; bargain for 
Congressional nomination, 121; 
Freemont campaign sees Fill- 
more danger, 194; jumps from 
church window, 106; log-roll- 
er, cunning, 68, 70-71; Love- 
joy avoided, 164; smart parlia- 
mentarian, 68; tactician, 144- 
145; trick of Herndon en- 
dorses, 164-165. 

Politician— 74; act, first polit- 
ical, 42; activity, 110; advance- 
ment as, 111-112; applicant for 
office, 148-150; Capitol removes 



to Springfield, 70-71; defeat, 
training in, 114, 180; discern- 
ment, 139; expediency, 99; 
fairness, 148; genei-alship, 217; 
greatness, 216-217; ideal, 221; 
party leader, 219; patriot and 
politician, 72; policy, 41-42; 
politics, his world, 109-110; 
popularity, champion of, 52; 
popularity in New Salem, 54- 
55; prescience, 210; prophet 
politician, 221; religion, polit- 
ical, 217; schooling, 106; self- 
glorifying declination, 107; 
skill, 179; succeed, how to, as, 
111-112; vote, new method of, 
bring out, 94-95; wisdom, 148, 
910. 

Popular will, student of, 63. 

Postmaster, 56. 

Preacher, indefatigable, 30. 

Presidency, 140, 210. 

Press, seeks the, 121-122, 176- 
177. 

Protection, favors, 50, 135. 

Protest 1837, 79-81, 108. 

Public office, public trust, 107. 

Public lands proceeds for inter- 
nal improvements, 63. 

Religion, political, 217. 

Republican Party — Bloomington 
Convention, 190-191; editors 
convention, first step in forma- 
tion of in 111., 187-188; joins, 
188-189; parties, three seek 
Lincoln in 1855, 182; party un- 
certainty, 1855, 184-185. 

Right, exhortation to stand with 
whoever is, 172-173. 

Senate U. S. — candidate in 1854, 
176; defeated, 179-180; duty 
of as representative of whole 



Index 



233 



state, 178; nominated unani- 
mously by Republicans, 1858, 
205-206; passion for term in, 
176. 

Shields, "scrap with," 103-105. 

Slavery, — anti-slavery bill in 
Congress, 145-146; not apolo- 
gist for, or abolitionist, 41; at- 
tacks weakest point, 216; anti- 
slavery sentiments, origin of, 
35 ; anti-slavery movement, 
growth of in New England, 
143; colonization favors, 154- 
155; Declaration of Independ- 
ence, relation to, 199-200; de- 
spair at strength of, 153; eco- 
nomic strength, 197; foresees 
conflict over, 47; gradual 
emancipation policy, 147; ha- 
tred of, 110, 173-174, 183; jus- 
tice to negro, 170; menace of, 
173-174; moral issue in North, 
197; New Orleans trip, kin- 
dles hatred, 40-41; protest, 
1837, 79-81; sale of mulatto 
girl, fires with hatred of, 41- 
42; subverts government, 157; 
shackled slaves torment, 110; 
slavetraders control Southern 
policies, 184; South's pecuni- 
ary interest in, 197; terri- 
tories, opposition to spread in, 
169. 

Social slight, resentment at, 32. 

South — constitutional rights rec- 
ognized, 169; pecuniary inter- 
est in slavery, 197; slave-trad- 
ers dictate politics of, 184. 

Speaker — attract, does not, in 
"great debate," 91-92; growing 
demand for, 194; eminence in 
1836, 68; emotions, appeals to, 



50, 67-68, 96; eulogy on Clay, 
153-155; fails as, 97; Forquer, 
crushing reply to, 67; Free- 
mont campaign, makes 50 
speeches in, 193-194; humorous 
passage in speech, 92; "lost 
speech," 191-192; Peoria 
speech, 167-174; "scathing 
style," 141; shocks cultured 
lawyer in 1840, 96-97; Spring- 
field, 1858 speech, 207-212; 
State Fair speech, 163; youth- 
ful, 30, 40, 50-51; wilderness, 
as in a, 192. 

Spot resolutions, 130, 151. 

Springfield speech — "house-di- 
vided-against-itself" address, 
207-212; apotheosis of career, 
212; criticized by friends, 207- 
208, 210; pride in, 210-211; na- 
tion cannot exist on injustice, 
and must become all free or 
all slaves, 208-210; presidency, 
claim that it was a bid for, 
210; United States history, one 
of the momentous addresses 
in, 208; wisely framed, 211. 

Springfield, III. — humble en- 
trance into, 72-73; secures re- 
moval of Capitol to, 70-71. 

Statesman — 78; national leader, 
312; national vision, 134. 

Stories,— appearance, 59-60; bal- 
lots, not bullets, 189-190; brag- 
ging horse owner, 30'-31 ; John 
Calhoun, 55; campaign purse, 
87-88; candidate, pompous, re- 
buked, 60; cajjtain, 48; 
cruelty to animals, 30; 
cultured lawyer shocked, 
96 ; demagogue exposed, 
88; despair as to slav- 



234 



Index 



ery, 153; Douglas tenders 
truce, 174-175; duel. Shields, 
103-105; engagement, 1D3-103; 
fairness, 45-46; farm hands, 
59; fight with Jack Armstrong, 
43-44; free speech, 98; fore- 
sight, 127; honesty, 45; horse 
race, 45; Indian, old, 48-49; 
jumps from window, 106; law 
studies, 5Q; lightning rod, 
Forquer's, 67-68; Lovejoy, 
avoids, 163-164; mercy, 46-47; 
mother, 25; negro boy, 189; 
negro girl, sale of. New Orleans, 
41; partnership, Herndon, 112; 
Pekin convention, 121; pov- 
erty, 68, 72-73; principle, loy- 
alty to, 71-72; politics, his 
world, 109; public, first act, 
42; Revolutionary history, 29; 
same Abe Lincoln, 114; slav- 
ery struggle serious, 152; 
shackled slaves, 110; soldier, 
19; speaker, failure as, 97; 
speech, early, 52; "Speed, I'm 
moved," 72-73; "There's Nat," 
119; trick of Herndon, 164- 
165; Washington, Weems' Life 
of, 29; world not dead, 192- 
193. 
Supreme Court of U. S. — atti- 
tude to, 198-199; Douglas, ap- 
proval of Jackson's position, 
199; Dred Scott decision of, 
197-200; Dred Scott decision 
weakens respect for, 198; 
Jackson's view of its lack of 
constitutional power of inter- 
pretation, 199; judges of, stu- 
dents of the past, 200; judi- 
cial decisions, function of, 198- 
199; Lincoln wiser than, 200. 



Surveyor, 55. 

Taylor, Zachary, promotes pres- 
idential candidacy, 138. 
Temperate, 87. 
Texas, annexation of, 129. 
Todd, Mary (Lincoln), engage- 
ment to Lincoln, severance of 
engagement and reconciliation, 
102-104. 
Universal suffrage, faith in, 64. 
Usury, 52-53, 

Voting, fraudulent, opposes, 106. 
War — captain in Black Hawk 
War, 47-49; dissatisfaction 
with Lincoln's action in Mex- 
ican War, 131; Mexican War, 
vigorous prosecution of fa- 
vored, 128-129; Mexican War, 
inception of opposed, 129-131; 
Mexican War, speech on in- 
ception of in Congress, 130- 
131 ; war power under the Con- 
stitution, 132-133. 
Washington, 28-30. 
Whig, 34, 50, 58, 68, 172. 
Woman Suffrage, 62-63. 
Wit, 30-31. 

Writer, see literary style above, 
first efforts, 27-28; first impor- 
tant address, 51-54. 
Lincoln, Mrs. Abraham, 150, 176. 
Lincoln, Nancy Hanks, 19, 25. 
Lincoln, Sally Bush, 19. 
Lincoln, Thomas, 15-16, 19, 24-25, 
39; reasons for removal from 
Kentucky, 18-19. 
Linder, W. F., 73. 
Locos, 115, 139. 
Lost speech. See Lincoln. 
Logan, Judge S. T., 51, 90, 121. 
Lovejoy, Rev. E. P. — murder of, 
79, 86; mob spirit, 81-82. 



Index 



235 



Lovejoy, Owen, 163, 177-178, 186. 
Lundy, Benjamin, 35. 

Matteson, Gov., 179. 

Mexican War, origin of, 127-128; 
patriotism awakened by, 128- 
131; Whigs, attitude toward, 
129-130. 

Milk-sick, 39. 

Minority party, value of, 101-102. 

Missouri compromise, 167-168; re- 
peal of, 158-160, 162, 170, 182. 

Mob spirit, 81-83; cure for, 84. 

Moral prophet, seldom politician, 
166. 

Morrison, Col. J. L. D., 149. 

Moses, 217. 

National campaigns. See cam- 
paigns. 

O'Connell, Daniel, 173. 
Offutt, Denton, 40, 42, 43. 
Ohio, 23. 
Osborn, Charles, 35. 

Pain, John, 193. 

Pain, Thomas, 19. 

Palmer, John M., 165-166, 191. 

Panic, 1837, 103. 

Parties, new, need of about 1854, 

181-182; power of partisan 

lash, 183-184; sacred, not, 219; 

utmty of, 219. 
Partisanship, growth of, 64-65, 66; 

judiciary, 100-102. 
Party ties, painful rending of, 165- 

166. 
Patriotism, civil, 213. 
Pekin convention, 1843, startling 

story of, 121. 
Pettit, John, 174. 



Phillips, Wendell, 173. 

Pierce, Pres. Franklin, 195. 

Pioneer life — churchman as public 
officer, 127; Illinois, 39; Indi- 
ana, 21-23; politics, 21-22 
recreation, 31-32; schools, 16 
social life, 32-33; store, 33 
story-telling, 33. 

Politics — art of securing results, 
215; American History, strug- 
gle between abolitionism and 
slavery, 214; evil, organized 
wisest attack on, 215-216; fac- 
tor vital in civilization, 215; 
pioneer, 21-23; politician sel- 
dom moral leader, 166; politi- 
cal generalship, 217; political 
progress, painful struggle, 
166-167; recreation to pioneer, 
22; school of the nation, 22; 
true politician, 213; voters, 
new method of getting out, 
94-95. 

Political philosophy — economic in- 
fluence gregarious, 216; human 
nature, slow-changing, 215; in- 
justice, nation cannot live on, 
208; Lincoln's, 213-221; poli- 
tician and statesman distin- 
guished, 217-218; public opin- 
ion, importance of, 195-196, 
217-218; universal feeling, 169. 

Polk, Pres. J. K., 119-120, 127, 130- 
131, 136. 

Presidency, 140, 210. 

Public office, hunger for, 148. 

Public service, state of, test of 
progress, 213. 

Religious leader opposed as repre^ 

sentative of people, 127. 
Republic, central idea of, 195-198. 



236 



Index 



Republican Party — new party, 
need of, 181; national, first 
convention, 193; origin Illinois, 
187-188; second step in forma- 
tion of, 190-191. 



Sangamon River, navigability of, 
52. 

Sangamon delegation charged with 
corruption, 70, 73. 

Schieder, G. H., 187. 

Selby, Paul, 190. 

Senate, U. S., slave power favored 
by, 144. 

Seward, W. H., 143, 145, 201, 204- 
205. 

Shields, James, 103-104, 128. 

Slavery — economic strength of, 
197; free speech endangered 
by, 78; gradual emancipation, 
147; lUinois friendly, 76-78; 
intolerance of, 145-146; Kan- 
sas struggle, 181-182; moral 
issue in the North, 197; north 
and south responsible for, 168; 
policy, bad, 80; portentous 
problem, 20; power of, 41; 
property, ostentatious, 157; 
slave-trade, effort to abolish, 
144-145; subverts government, 
157. 

South, Texas, annexation of, 117. 

Speed, Joshua, 67, 72-73, 87, 90, 
103, 182-185. 

Spencer County, 21, 24. 

Spot resolutions. See Lincoln. 

Springfield speech. See Lincoln. 

Stanton, E. M., 145. 

Stephens, A. H., 134, 138. 



Stone, Dan, 80, 146. 
Stuart, John T., 60, 90, 188. 
Sumner, 190. 

Taylor, Richard, 88. 

Taylor, Pres. Zachary, 137-139, 

149-150. 
Texas, annexation of, 116-117, 129. 
Thomas, 90. 
Todd, Mary (Lincoln), See Mrs. 

Abraham Lincoln. 
Toombs, Robert, 138. 
Trumbull, LjTnan, 179-180. 
Tyler, Pres. John, 116, 127. 

Universal feeling, not to be disre- 
garded, 169. 
Usury, 52-53. 

Vandalia, Capitol, 111., 70-71. 
Van Buren, Martin, 98, 116, 142. 
\"oting, 1834, viva voce, 60. 

Walker, Robert J., 201. 

War, only solution to slavery 
struggle, 214. 

War power under Constitution, 
132-133. 

Washburn, E. B., 138, 179. 

Washington, 29, 131, 156, 199, 201. 

Webster, Daniel, 92, 95, 116, 159, 
209. 

Weems' Life of Washington, 28. 

Whigs — called federalists, 49; ag- 
gressive campaign, 1840, 95; 
judiciary, corruption of, op- 
posed, 100-102; Mexican War, 
129-130; support banks, 103, 
105; seek Lincoln, 182. 

White, Hugh L., 63. 

Wilmot, Proviso, 138, 144. 



